Outcomes in Minor Salivary Gland Tumors—A 20+ Year Tertiary‐Care Center Experience

Abstract

Abstract Objective Minor salivary gland carcinomas are challenging to study due to their rarity and heterogeneity. We aim to further characterize clinical characteristics, treatment, and outcomes over 20 years within a single institution. Study Design Retrospective chart review was conducted on 210 patients who received primary treatment for minor salivary gland malignancy from 2000 to 2022. Setting Single tertiary‐care center. Methods Multivariable Cox proportional hazards method was used to examine the relationship between pre‐determined clinically important variables and outcomes. Results Five‐year overall survival was 77.8% (72.0‐84.1). Advanced clinical T stage portended over a 2 times higher risk of death and recurrence. High pathologic grade was associated with a near 3 times higher risk of death and recurrence. There was a predominance of occult nodal metastases in level II for oral cavity and oropharynx site tumors. Conclusion Clinical T stage and grade were important for overall survival, local, regional, and distant recurrence‐free survival. Occult nodal metastases occurred most often in level II.

Keywords

• minor salivary gland neoplasms
• neck dissection
• occult nodal metastases