Combination treatment of parotid salivary gland cancer

Abstract

Background: Cancer of the parotid salivary gland (PSG) accounts for more than a half of all cases of salivary gland malignancies. Its treatment strategy remains a matter of debate.Aim: To identify factors significantly associated with the 3-year survival of patients with PSG cancer after combination treatment.Materials and methods: Thirty nine patients with morphologically confirmed PSG cancer (T1-4N0) were recruited into the study. Surgery (partial or total parotidectomy without the cervical lymphatic node dissection) was performed in 32 patients. The most frequent diagnosis (n = 10; 25.6% of all cases) was adenocarcinoma. Radiation to PSG and the regional lymphatic nodes was used in 15 patients as neoadjuvant and in 24 as adjuvant regimen. Three-year survival rates were analyzed in 36 patients by the Kaplan-Meier method, with consideration of their sex, age and the sequence of surgical and radiation treatment.Results: The 3-year survival after combination treatment of PSG cancer patients was 82.7%. Women, patients above 60 years of age and those who received adjuvant radiation therapy demonstrated a trend towards better 3-year survival, although it was non-significant (p > 0.05).Conclusion: Combination strategy remains an effective approach to PSG cancer irrespective of age and sex of patients. The use of radiation therapy as a single modality is possible only in exceptional cases.

Keywords

• parotid salivary gland cancer
• parotidectomy
• radiation therapy
• survival