A retrospective study of factors of prognostic significance for clinical course and survival was performed using uni- and multivariate analyses in 251 patients with primary salivary gland carcinoma admitted during the period 1958-1992. Univariate analyses indicated that site of primary tumour, histology, clinical stage, presence of node metastases at primary diagnosis, and status of surgical margins were important prognostic factors for cause-specific survival, locoregional control and distant metastases. Multivariate analyses confirmed that histology was important for both locoregional control and cause-specific survival, whereas primary site was only of importance for locoregional control. Presence of node metastases at diagnosis was more important for locoregional control than clinical stage, whereas clinical stage was the most important factor for cause-specific survival. Status of surgical margins was of major importance for both cause-specific survival and locoregional control. Radiotherapy in addition to surgery improved locoregional control only, whereas survival was not affected.

We studied the value of histopathological grading in determining the prognosis of giant cell tumour (osteoclastoma) and the rate of local and distant recurrences in a consecutive series of 31 patients. We found that grading had no prognostic value. Eighteen patients were treated by intralesional curettage and 13 by wide excision. Ten patients (56%), who were all treated by curettage, had local recurrences, but none of the tumours with wide excision recurred (p < 0.05). Five (16%) had local recurrences as well as distant metastases, usually to the lungs. The recurrences developed later than an average of 12 years after primary treatment in 3 patients. Wide excision and life-long follow up should be considered in the management of these tumours.

Ninety‐five malignant tumors in the submandibular gland, the sublingual gland, and the minor salivary glands seen in a 25‐year period were reviewed. The patients were retrospectively staged using the Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC) classification. The most frequent tumor was adenoid cystic carcinoma, followed by adenocarcinoma. The submandibular gland was the most frequent location. Five‐year and 10‐year crude survival rates were 62% and 43%, respectively. Clinical stage was the most important prognostic factor. Survival was not correlated with location of tumor, although recurrence and metastases occurred more frequently in patients with cancer of the submandibular gland. Histologically, the 5‐year and 10‐year survival was significantly better for patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma compared with the other types; however, although still significant, this difference diminished at 10 years, confirming the need for a long observation time for patients with this tumor. 68:2424‐2431, 1991.