Skip to Content
MDPIMDPI
CancersCancers
PDF
  • Editorial
  • Open Access

24 April 2022

Prognostic Factors after Surgery for Salivary Gland Cancer; What Is New, and What Is Next?

,
and
1
Otolaryngology Department, San Giovanni-Addolorata Hospital, 00184 Rome, Italy
2
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cancers2022, 14(9), 2130;https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14092130
This article belongs to the Special Issue Prognostic Factors after Surgery for Salivary Gland Cancer; What's New, and What's Next?
Version Notes
Order Reprints
Salivary gland cancers account approximately for 7% of all head and neck tumors [1]; these neoplasms can arise from major salivary glands (the parotid gland, submandibular gland, and sublingual gland) or from minor salivary glands in the upper aerodigestive tract [2]. Despite showing a low incidence as compared to other head and neck cancers, data suggest that their incidences have increased during the last twenty years. In addition, salivary gland cancer-related deaths have not significantly decreased.
Radical or partial resection based on tumor stage and histopathological diagnosis remains the gold standard, which can be followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) treatment, depending on the presence of some prognostic factors.
In the last decade, the introduction of new classifications in parotid surgery, such as the classification of branching pattern of facial nerve during parotidectomy proposed by Alomar and the European Salivary Gland Society’s classification of parotidectomies [3,4], have gained popularity; moreover, to reach the best cosmetic result with minimal access, new surgical approaches, such as the endoscopic retroauricular approach for benign and malignant parotid tumors [5,6,7] and the robotic surgery for parotid and submandibular cancers [8,9,10], have attracted the interest of head and neck surgeons.
In the era of precision medicine, the identification of molecular biomarkers for cancer detection is one of the greatest challenges for all clinicians, including ENT specialists, aiming to identify new prognostic factors of poorer and better outcomes.
In this light, liquid biopsy is a new, safe, and minimally invasive diagnostic tool that individuates circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating free DNA (cfDNA) to identify candidate therapeutic targets and to early detect tumor recurrence [11,12].
Metcalf et al. reported the first application of liquid biopsy to adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC), showing some potential to detect clinically actionable mutations, to define the tumor profile, and to early detect tumor recurrence [13]; additionally, a recent review from Zhang et al. explored the potential role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and exosomes in monitoring salivary gland cancers, confirming the potentiality of the technique despite the majority of the studies having been conducted in vitro [14].
Emerging clinicopathological predictors of survival have been recently identified for acinic cell carcinoma (AciCC), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC), small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma “Merkel type” (SNECM), salivary duct carcinoma (SDC), and other major salivary neoplasms [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23].
The aim of this Special Issue is to stimulate discussion about news in major salivary gland surgery, trying to provide evidence-based data focused on new prognostic factors in major salivary gland cancers, especially in parotid oncological surgery.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.C., P.D.L. and F.A.S.; methodology, P.D.L.; software, P.D.L.; validation, A.C. and F.A.S.; investigation, P.D.L.; resources, P.D.L.; data curation, A.C., P.D.L. and F.A.S.; writing—original draft preparation, P.D.L.; writing—review and editing, A.C., and F.A.S.; supervision, A.C. and F.A.S.; project administration, P.D.L. All authors contributed equally to this work. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

  1. Cavaliere, M.; De Luca, P.; Scarpa, A.; Savignano, L.; Cassandro, C.; Cassandro, E.; Iemma, M. Acinic cell carcinoma of the parotid gland: From pathogenesis to management: A literature review. Eur. Arch. Oto-Rhino-Laryngol. 2020, 277, 2673–2679. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  2. De Luca, P.; Tassone, D.; de Campora, L.; Simone, M.; Marra, P.; Colacurcio, V.; Scarpa, A.; Costarelli, L.; Camaioni, A. Cribriform adenocarcinoma of the tongue and minor salivary glands: A systematic review of an uncommon clinicopathological entity. Eur. Arch. Oto-Rhino-Laryngol. 2021. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  3. Alomar, O.S.K. New classification of branching pattern of facial nerve during parotidectomy: A cross sectional study. Ann. Med. Surg. 2021, 62, 190–196. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  4. Quer, M.; Guntinas-Lichius, O.; Marchal, F.; Vander Poorten, V.; Chevalier, D.; Leon, X.; Eisele, D.; Dulguerov, P. Classification of parotidectomies: A proposal of the European Salivary Gland Society. Eur. Arch. Oto-Rhino-Laryngol. 2016, 273, 3307–3312. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  5. Chen, S.W.; Zhao, M.; Wang, D.; Zhao, Y.; Qiu, J.X.; Liu, Y.H. Endoscopic and Robotic Parotidectomy for the Treatment of Parotid Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front. Oncol. 2021, 11, 748885. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  6. Li, T.; Liu, Y.; Wang, Q.; Qin, Y.; Gao, W.; Li, Q.; Schiferle, E.; Xiao, S. Parotidectomy by an endoscopic-assisted postauricular-groove approach. Head Neck 2019, 41, 2851–2859. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  7. Gao, L.; Liang, Q.-L.; Ren, W.-H.; Li, S.-M.; Xue, L.-F.; Zhi, Y.; Song, J.-Z.; Wang, Q.-B.; Dou, Z.-C.; Yue, J.; et al. Comparison of endoscope-assisted versus conventional resection of parotid tumors. Br. J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 2019, 57, 1003–1008. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  8. Capaccio, P.; Riva, G.; Cammarota, R.; Gaffuri, M.; Pecorari, G. Minimally invasive transoral robotic surgery for hiloparenchymal submandibular stone: Technical note on Flex Robotic System. Clin. Case Rep. 2022, 10, e04529. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  9. Cammaroto, G.; Vicini, C.; Montevecchi, F.; Bonsembiante, A.; Meccariello, G.; Bresciani, L.; Pelucchi, S.; Capaccio, P. Submandibular gland excision: From external surgery to robotic intraoral and extraoral approaches. Oral Dis. 2020, 26, 853–857. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  10. Park, Y.M.; Koh, Y.W. Current Issues in Treatment of Parotid Gland Cancer and Advanced Surgical Technique of Robotic Parotidectomy. Curr. Oncol. Rep. 2022, 24, 203–208. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  11. Adeola, H.A.; Bello, I.O.; Aruleba, R.T.; Francisco, N.M.; Adekiya, T.A.; Adefuye, A.O.; Ikwegbue, P.C.; Musaigwa, F. The Practicality of the Use of Liquid Biopsy in Early Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring of Oral Cancer in Resource-Limited Settings. Cancers 2022, 14, 1139. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  12. Nonaka, T.; Wong, D.T.W. Liquid Biopsy in Head and Neck Cancer: Promises and Challenges. J. Dent. Res. 2018, 97, 701–708. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  13. Metcalf, R.; Mohan, S.; Hilton, S.; Pierce, J.; Hudson, J.; Betts, G.; Chaturvedi, A.; Homer, J.; Leong, H.; Schofield, P.; et al. The application of liquid biopsies in metastatic salivary gland cancer to identify candidate therapeutic targets. Ann. Oncol. 2017, 28, vii8. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  14. Zhang, H.Y.; Freitas, D.; Kim, H.S.; Fabijanic, K.; Li, Z.; Chen, H.Y.; Mark, M.T.; Molina, H.; Martin, A.B.; Bojmar, L.; et al. Identification of distinct nanoparticles and subsets of extracellular vesicles by asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation. Nat. Cell Biol. 2018, 20, 332–343. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  15. van Weert, S.; Valstar, M.; Lissenberg-Witte, B.; Bloemena, E.; Smit, L.; van der Wal, J.; Vergeer, M.; Smeele, L.; Leemans, C.R. Prognostic factors in acinic cell carcinoma of the head and neck: The Amsterdam experience. Oral Oncol. 2022, 125, 105698. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  16. Wakely, P.E., Jr.; Lott-Limbach, A.A. Cytopathology of acinic cell carcinoma: A study of 50 cases, including 9 with high-grade transformation. Cancer Cytopathol. 2021, 129, 973–983. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  17. Sama, S.; Komiya, T.; Guddati, A.K. Advances in the Treatment of Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma. World J. Oncol. 2022, 13, 1–7. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  18. Jeergal, P.A.; Karim Namazi, N.A.; Patil, S.; Kochar, A.; Sohoni, R.; Bussari, S.B. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma: A retrospective clinicopathologic study of 25 cases. J. Oral Maxillofac. Pathol. 2021, 25, 490–493. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  19. Giridhar, P.; Venkatesulu, B.P.; Yoo, R.; Rath, G.K.; Mallick, S.; Upadhyay, A.; Chan, D.P. Demography, patterns of care, and survival outcomes in patients with salivary duct carcinoma: An individual patient data analysis of 857 patients. Future Sci. OA 2022, 8, FSO791. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  20. Giroulet, F.; Tabotta, F.; Pomoni, A.; Prior, J. Primary parotid Merkel cell carcinoma: A first imagery and treatment response assessment by 18F-FDG PET. BMJ Case Rep. 2019, 12, e226511. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  21. Mesolella, M.; Iengo, M.; Testa, D.; AM, D.I.L.; Salzano, G.; Salzano, F.A. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the base of tongue. Acta Otorhinolaryngol. Ital. 2015, 35, 58–61. [Google Scholar] [PubMed]
  22. Guerra, G.; Testa, D.; Montagnani, S.; Tafuri, D.; Salzano, F.A.; Rocca, A.; Amato, B.; Salzano, G.; Dell’Aversana Orabona, G.; Piombino, P.; et al. Surgical management of pleomorphic adenoma of parotid gland in elderly patients: Role of morphological features. Int. J. Surg. 2014, 12 (Suppl. S2), S12–S16. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  23. Di Stadio, A.; Ralli, M.; Maranzano, M.; Messineo, D.; Ricci, G.; Cavaliere, M.; Cascone, A.; Greco, A.; de Vincentiis, M.; Salzano, F.A. A Rare Case of Asymptomatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Minor Salivary Glands in an Elderly Patient. Ear Nose Throat J. 2021, 100, 409S–411S. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Article Metrics

Citations

Article Access Statistics

Journal Statistics
Multiple requests from the same IP address are counted as one view.
Randomized Crossover Trial Evaluating Detoxification of Tobacco Carcinogens by Broccoli Seed and Sprout Extract in Current Smokers
Previous
Urinary Volatile Organic Compound Testing in Fast-Track Patients with Suspected Colorectal Cancer
Next