Carcinoma of the minor salivary glands: results of surgery and combined therapy.

Purpose: This article reports the results of treatment of 7 histologic types of minor salivary gland carcinoma.
Patients and Methods: Of 256 cases, local excision was used in 194, extended excision in 62, excision accompanied by neck dissection in 98, and surgery with adjunctive radiation therapy or chemotherapy in 101. Forty-five of the 98 neck dissection cases had cervical node metastases.
Results: Survival rates were analyzed for 233 patients. The 3-year survival rate was (167 of 215) (77.67%), the 5-year survival rate was 134 of 187 (71.76%), and the 10-year survival rate was 79 of 113 (69.91%).
Conclusions: These data confirm that surgery is still the mode of choice in the treatment of minor salivary gland carcinoma, but a combination with radiation therapy or chemotherapy is advisable in some patients.