Surgical Treatment of Carcinomas of the Oral Minor Salivary Glands—Oncological Outcome in Dependence of Tumor Entity and Therapeutic Strategies

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical outcomes of three types of minor salivary gland carcinomas (adenoid-cystic carcinomas (ACC), adeno carcinomas not otherwise specified (AC-NOS), and mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC)) after primary surgical therapy. A retrospective cohort study was designed and patients with cancer of the minor oral salivary glands treated in our department in the years 2011 to 2022 were included. Clinicopathological data were evaluated to compare overall survival and progression-free survival between the entities. Eighty-one patients were included. The rates of cervical metastases were 38.9% for ACC, 25% for MEC, and 9.1% for AC-NOS. ACC exhibited significantly higher rates of local and systemic disease recurrence (p = 0.02), and the presence of neck node metastases was confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival (p = 0.014). Treatment success in terms of oncological outcome varied significantly between the different entities and implies different treatment regimens for each tumor entity.

Complete clinical response to chemoradiation in adenoid cystic carcinoma of the base of tongue: Case report of a rare tumor in a rare location

“…11 ACC is the most frequent malignancy of minor and sublingual salivary glands. 12 , 13 The palate is the most common site for ACC of minor salivary glands, and only 8.8% occurs in the base of the tongue and 2.9% in the anterior two‐thirds of the tongue. 14 These tumors often present with painless swelling.…”