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Treatment Options for High-Grade Stage III Major Salivary Gland Tumors
Source: Salivary Gland Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: May 13, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
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Context: Treatment of Stage III Major Salivary Gland Cancer
Treatment options for high-grade stage III major salivary gland tumors include:
Patients with localized high-grade salivary gland tumors that are confined to the gland in which they arise may be cured by radical surgery alone.[9,10]
Postoperative radiation therapy may improve local control and increase survival rates for patients with high-grade tumors, positive surgical margins, or perineural invasion.[11][Level of evidence C2]; [12-14]
Source links and citations
Fast neutron-beam radiation therapy or accelerated hyperfractionated photon-beam schedules have been reported to be more effective than conventional x-ray therapy in the treatment of patients with inoperable, unresectable, or recurrent malignant salivary gland tumors.[1,15-17]
Radiation therapy, radiosensitizers, and chemotherapy (under clinical evaluation). Clinical trials are exploring ways to improve local control with these modalities.[2-4,18,19]
Patients with high-grade stage III salivary gland tumors that are confined to the gland in which they arise may be cured by surgery alone, although adjuvant postoperative radiation therapy may be used, especially if positive margins are present. Primary conventional x-ray radiation therapy may provide palliation for patients with unresectable tumors. Fast neutron beams, however, have been reported to improve disease-free survival and overall survival in this clinical situation.[1,16,17] Patients with tumors that have spread to regional lymph nodes should have a regional lymphadenectomy as part of the initial surgical procedure. Adjuvant radiation therapy for these tumors may reduce the local recurrence rate.
Publication references
Read the original reference and check its publication notices.
- PubMed 10208669 · Original source
- PubMed 10211318 · Original source
- PubMed 10701733 · Original source
- PubMed 1651301 · Original source
- PubMed 17241753 · Original source
- PubMed 3114186 · Original source
- PubMed 3744850 · Original source
- PubMed 3788853 · Original source
- PubMed 3884153 · Original source
- PubMed 6279995 · Original source
- PubMed 6754060 · Original source
- PubMed 8949764 · Original source
- PubMed 9054880 · Original source
Preserved source evidence · Not medical advice