Metastases to parotid nodes

Abstract

The differential diagnosis of masses in the preauricular and retromandibular regions includes a number of diseases in addition to primary tumors of the parotid. The lesions most commonly misdiagnosed as parotid tumors are intraparotid lymph nodes involved with inflammatory or neoplastic disease. Metastatic tumors in parotid nodes are unusual but must be considered. We present 12 patients with isolated metastases to parotid lymph nodes. Nine of the patients had primary tumors in the local afferent lymphatic bed. Three patients had metastases from unknown or distant sites. The majority of tumors that metastasize to the parotid are of cutaneous origin. Six of the patients had squamous cell carcinomas, three had adenocarcinomas, two melanomas and one a small cell carcinoma. The treatment of parotid metastases from local tumors is surgical removal of the parotid and associated regional nodes with postoperative irradiation therapy in certain instances. Management of the facial nerve should follow those principles appropriate for primary parotid tumors.

Deep lobe parotidectomy—why, when, and how?

“…Nodes within the deep lobe are found in approximately 75% of all specimens and range from 0 to 9 in number with a mean of 2 [1,[7][8][9]. These nodal numbers are actually proportional to the amount of gland found deep and lateral to the facial nerve [10][11][12][13].…”

Parotid melanoma of unknown primary

“…The presence of rare melanocytes in the parotid gland is typically explained by its development from invaginating oral epithelium, which is known to contain melanoblasts (Greene and Bernier 1961;Takeda 1997). One requirement for the Table 2 Characteristics of cases of parotid melanoma of unknown primary from a comprehensive literature search Bahar et al (1990), Balm et al (1994), Barbieri et al (2002), Bussi et al (1999), Gao et al (2008), Greene and Bernier (1961), Jennings et al (1996), Jorgensen (1953, Karpowicz et al (2011), Laudadio et al (1984, Lussier et al (2000), Mesa et al (2009), Nichols et al (1980, Pain et al (1986), Prayson and Sebek (2000), Renaut (1996), Schroeder and Stahr (1998), Tsutsumida et al (2008), Wang et al (1999), Woodwards et al (1993) ND neck dissection, RT radiation therapy (2) Dead (3) diagnosis of a primary parotid melanoma states that the bulk of the tumor should be located in the parotid parenchyma and contains no identifiable LN tissue (Woodwards et al 1993). In our study, roughly half of all PMUP were histologically documented in the parotid parenchyma, suggesting that some cases may have represented primary parotid melanomas.…”

Metastatic Minor Salivary Gland Colloid Carcinoma in the Parotid Region After Parotidectomy for Pleomorphic Adenoma

“…Metastasis to the parotid region may masquerade as a primary salivary gland tumor. 15 However, excisional biopsy of the tumor demonstrated the metastatic nature, prompting a search for the primary.…”