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Minor Salivary Gland Cancer of the Head and Neck: A Review of Epidemiologic Aspects, Prognostic Factors, and Outcomes

  • HEAD AND NECK CANCERS (EY HANNA, SECTION EDITOR)
  • Published:
Current Oncology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Minor salivary gland carcinomas (MiSGC) of the head and neck are a group of rare cancers with significant heterogeneity in histological types and with variable clinical behavior. This study aims to clarify the incidence, epidemiology, predictive factors, and outcome-based survival in a large cohort of patients treated at the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (BNCI) over a 20-year period by comparing and associating the results of current articles on the world stage.

Recent Findings

The difficulty in developing an algorithm of treatment is due to the low number of cases when evaluated in a single institution and the variety of histological subtypes that have different behaviors and different treatments according to each anatomical location. We reviewed the experience of tertiary centers for the treatment of head and neck cancer and epidemiological studies from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database of the National Cancer Institute of the USA.

Summary

The lack of consensus on the management of MiSGC requires further knowledge about the biological behaviors of these tumors, as the identification of predictive factor of failure and survival to adequate treatment intensity. The growing collaboration of different centers publishing their experience allows us to unify these samples to reach concrete conclusions about these tumors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Head and Neck Surgery Service, Brazilian National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Paula Fatturi Moretz-sohn, Fernando Luiz Dias & Caroline Mafra de Carvalho Marques

  2. Head and Neck Surgery Department of Post Graduate School of Medicine, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Paula Fatturi Moretz-sohn & Fernando Luiz Dias

  3. Department of Surgery, Brazilian Navy Hospital Marcilio Dias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Paula Fatturi Moretz-sohn

  4. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Brazilian Navy Hospital Marcilio Dias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Caroline Mafra de Carvalho Marques

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  1. Paula Fatturi Moretz-sohn
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  2. Fernando Luiz Dias
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  3. Caroline Mafra de Carvalho Marques
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Correspondence to Paula Fatturi Moretz-sohn.

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Moretz-sohn, P.F., Dias, F.L. & de Carvalho Marques, C.M. Minor Salivary Gland Cancer of the Head and Neck: A Review of Epidemiologic Aspects, Prognostic Factors, and Outcomes. Curr Oncol Rep 25, 173–179 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-022-01356-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-022-01356-3

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