Skip to main content

Salivary Gland Tumors

Dontre' M. Douse, MD, LaBryson A Greene, BSEd and Kendall K Tasche, MD Reviewed 05/2023
 


BASICS

Salivary gland tumors consist of benign or malignant neoplasms of the major and minor salivary glands. Tumors may be mimicked clinically by a variety of inflammatory or infectious disorders: 
  • Ma...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Focused inquiry

    • Specific presentation of mass: initial recognition; rate of growth; change in size with actions, especially with food consumption; laterality/focality of swelling; xero...

TREATMENT

  • Surgical excision is the primary treatment for all salivary gland tumors

  • Benign

    • Partial parotidectomy is typically sufficient for benign neoplasms

  • Malignant

    • Surgery

      • Partial parotidectomy with neg...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

Patient Monitoring

  • For malignancy: every 3–4 months for year 1–2, every 6 months for year 3–4, then yearly

  • For benign tumors: once a year for 5 years

PATIENT EDUCATION

REFERENCES

1
Sood  AJ, Houlton  JJ, Nguyen  SA, et al. Facial nerve monitoring during parotidectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. ...

CODES

ICD10

  • D11.9 Benign neoplasm of major salivary gland, unspecified

  • C08.9 Malignant neoplasm of major salivary gland, unspecified

  • C07 Malignant neoplasm of parotid gland

  • C08.0 Malignant neoplasm of sub...

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • To evaluate a patient with a suspected salivary gland malignancy, complete history and physical exam and consider either CT scan or MRI; fine-needle aspiration likely will yield a work...

Subscribe to Access Full Content

Sign Up for a 10-Day Free Trial

Sign up for a 10-day FREE Trial now and receive full access to all content.

×