Recurrent malignant salivary gland neoplasms

Recurrent salivary gland malignancies present difficult therapeutic decisions and poor prognosis in many instances, and treatment becomes of a palliative nature only. As many of the salivary gland malignancies we see are of the recurrent type, the following study was done to determine the efficacy of a vigorous attempt at retreatment. During the period January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1984, 352 patients with major and minor salivary gland tumors were evaluated at our institution. There were 149 benign lesions and 203 patients with malignant tumors. Of these, 99 patients had recurrent and metastatic tumors that had been treated initially elsewhere. Thirty‐three of these patients were able to be treated with curative intent: surgery, 21; surgery plus radiation, 9; radiation therapy alone, 2; and radiation plus chemotherapy, 1. The 5 year survival with no evidence of disease was achieved in three patients with surgery alone and two patients with surgery plus radiation therapy. The group of five patients was comprised of two patients with adenoid cystic carcinomas of the parotid, one with intermediate grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the parotid, one, sebaceous cell carcinoma of the parotid, and one, adenoid cystic carcinoma of an accessory salivary gland. The results of this study serve to re‐emphasize the relative poor yield of attempts at retreatment of loco‐regional recurrence of salivary gland tumors.