Recurrent salivary gland cancer.
Salivary gland cancer is the most diverse cancer in the body consisting of up to 24 different pathologic subtypes. Although these cancers arise within a common group of glands in the head and neck region, these diverse cancers differ substantially in clinical behavior. As a result, salivary cancers are often categorized as low, intermediate, or high-risk for recurrence and metastasis based on histopathologic subtype and tumor stage. Appropriate risk classification of a given salivary tumor provides a useful guide to the physicians who determine the appropriate treatment regimen. Low-risk tumors can be treated successfully with surgery alone, whereas intermediate and high-risk tumors often require multimodality therapy. Recurrent salivary cancer should be considered high-risk by definition, especially if previously treated with appropriate therapy, and therefore requires aggressive multimodality therapy in order to achieve adequate local control and disease-free survival.
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, USA. gillesmb@musc.edu
M Boyd
MB
Gillespie
W Greer
WG
Albergotti
David W
DW
Eisele
D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy