Salivary gland tumour

[2] Other red flag symptoms which may suggest malignancy and warrant further investigation are fixation of the lump to the overlying skin, ulceration and induration (hardening) of the mucosa.

[3] Many diagnostic methods can be used to determine the type of salivary gland tumour and if it is benign or malignant.

[4] Biopsy: The removal of cells or tissues so they can be viewed under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer.

An FNA is the most common type of biopsy used for salivary gland cancer and has been shown to produce accurate results when differentiating between benign and malignant tumours.

[8] Furthermore, high resolution ultrasound can identify the exact tumour location within the parotid gland, its relationship to the retromandibular vein and assist surgical excision.

[14][15] Targeted therapy - Due to the poor results with chemotherapy, it's urgent to explore novel therapeutic interventions for this disease.

Their expression seems not to be linked to its pathogenetic role in the development of SGCs, but more to the histogenetic origin of the tumour cells.

Various targeted agents, such as imatinib, cetuximab, gefitinib, trastuzumab, had been used for exploring new treatment for salivary gland tumours, but on account of the rare incidence of salivary gland tumours, the number of cases available on targeted therapy for analysis is relatively small.

[3][18] Saku et al. in 1997 [19] and Venturi [20][21] in 2021, reported the causal role for ionizing radiation in salivary gland tumorigenesis, particularly for mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

A 71-year-old woman with a massive tumour protuding from the side of her head and neck
A 71-year-old woman diagnosed with a massive salivary gland mixed tumour, also known as pleomorphic adenoma .
Relative incidence of parotid tumours. [ 10 ]
Relative incidence of submandibular tumours. [ 10 ]
Coronal MRI showing right parotid adenoid cystic carcinoma.
Benign tumour of the submandibular gland, also known as pleomorphic adenoma, presented as a painless neck mass in a 40-year-old man. At the left of the image is the white tumour with its characteristic cartilaginous cut surface. To the right is the normally lobated submandibular salivary gland.
Specimen from a parotid gland tumour. It was removed by John Hunter from a 37-year-old man named John Burley on 24 October 1785. The tumour weighed over 4 kilograms and took twenty-five minutes to remove. The specimen currently resides in the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England .