Systemic therapy for salivary gland malignancy: current status and future perspectives

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Head and Neck Cancer Research

Background:

• Salivary gland malignancies are rare, histologically diverse, and often chemo-resistant, complicating treatment.
• Optimal systemic therapy strategies for these neoplasms remain largely undefined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current role and future directions of systemic therapy for salivary gland malignancies.
• To highlight challenges and emerging personalized treatment options.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on systemic therapy for salivary gland malignancies.
• Analysis of treatment outcomes for various therapeutic modalities.

Main Results:

• Concurrent chemotherapy's benefit in radiotherapy remains unclear.
• Personalized therapies targeting specific molecular alterations (e.g., AR, HER2, NTRK fusions) are emerging.
• Multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors are available for adenoid cystic carcinoma.
• Anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitors have shown limited efficacy.

Conclusions:

• Systemic therapy for salivary gland malignancies requires a multidisciplinary approach, especially for recurrent/metastatic disease.
• Personalized and targeted therapies represent a significant advancement.
• Further research, including comprehensive genomic screening and combination strategies, is crucial to address unmet needs.