Malignant tumors of intraoral minor salivary glands

Between 1995 and 2004, 43 patients with intraoral minor salivary gland carcinomas were diagnosed and treated at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Parma, Italy. The palate was the most common site of involvement and comprised 53.5% of the cases. Adenoid cystic carcinoma was the most common histological type (60.6%), followed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma (27.9%). All patients were treated with surgery as the primary modality. Neck dissection was performed in 20.9% of patients, and more than half (72.1%) were treated with adjuvant radiation therapy. The range of the follow-up was 24-132 months (mean: 66 months). Of the 43 patients examined in this study, 12 died due to the tumor. Treatment failure was documented in 18 of the 43 patients (41.9%). Disease-free intervals ranged from 1 month to 9 years and 13.9% of the patients had local failure, whereas 25,6% had distant metastases. The survival rates at 2, 5, and 10 years were 90.7%, 71.8%, and 68%, respectively. The local control rates were 93.1% at 2 years and 83.1% at 5 and 10 years. The 2-, 5-, and 10-year rates for freedom from distant relapse were 95.2%, 83.4%, and 57.5%, respectively. The T stage, cervical lymph node metastasis, surgical margin status and perineural invasion were statistically significant to the outcome.