Cancer Treatment Today

Salivary gland malignancies (SGMs) are rare neoplasms accounting for < 1%-5% of all head and neck cancers. ASCO recently issued a guideline and their surveillance recommendations are:

ecommendation 5.3.
Follow-up surveillance imaging of the primary site (contrast CT or MRI) and the chest CT may be obtained every 6-12 months for the first 2 years after treatment (Type: informal consensus; Evidence quality: low; Strength of recommendation: moderate).
Recommendation 5.4.
Follow-up imaging of the primary site and the chest from years 3-5 should be directed by symptoms and physical examination findings. Yearly follow-up imaging may be offered in cases of high-grade histology or poor prognostic clinicopathologic features (Type: informal consensus; Evidence quality: low; Strength of recommendation: moderate).
Recommendation 5.5.
Long-term follow-up (beyond 5 years) with yearly examination should be offered to all patients with salivary gland cancer. Yearly chest CT may be offered especially in patients with high-grade histology or poor prognostic clinicopathologic features (Type: informal consensus; Evidence quality: low; Strength of recommendation: moderate).

J. L. Geiger et al, Management of Salivary Gland Malignancy: ASCO Guideline. Journal of Clinical Oncology
Volume 39, Number 17 June 2021

Bussu F, Parrilla C, Rizzo D, Almadori G, Paludetti G, Galli J. Clinical approach and treatment of benign and malignant parotid masses, personal experience. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2011 Jun;31(3):135-43

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