Salivary Gland Malignancies in Children

Abstract

Introduction:Salivary gland disease is managed by a number of specialties. There are three pairs of major salivary glands and several hundred minor salivary glands within the upper aerodigestive tract. Pathology is diverse, including infective, inflammatory and neoplastic diseases. Clinical presentation is usually with a lump within or swelling of the gland. Investigations combine clinical assessment, fine needle aspiration cytology and radiology. Aim of the Work: To highlight the incidence, pathology, clinical presentation, investigations, and treatment of the malignant tumors of salivary glands in children. Methodology: Epithelial salivary gland neoplasms are infrequent in both adult and children. The incidence of these tumors increase with age; most pediatric cases are more than 10 years of age and the presence of these tumors in newborn is exceedingly rare. Published data suggest a male predominance. The major salivary glands, the parotid and the submandibular, are the main site of occurrence. Malignant cases account for 49% of the published pediatric cases as compared to 37% reported in adult literature. In children it was found that malignant tumors affected the parotid gland in about 50% of published pediatric cases, while in the submandibular gland benign neoplasms were twice as frequent as malignant tumors. In adults, malignant tumors compromised 25-32% of tumors in the parotid gland, and 40-50% of the submandibular gland neoplasms. Conclusion: The role of radiotherapy in salivary gland tumors remains controversial. Usually the presence of high-grade malignancies, a large and aggressive tumor, multiple level involvements of cervical lymph nodes and incomplete surgery are considered the main indication of irradiation. Overall, salivary gland malignant epithelial tumors in children usually have a good prognosis. Five-years overall survival ranges from 81% to 90%. Keywords: Salivary Gland Malignancies in Children