Salivary Gland Tumours: Causes, Symptoms, Types, Diagnosis and Treatment

Salivary gland tumours are growths of abnormal cells, or tumours, that originate in the salivary glands. Seldom do salivary gland tumours occur.

The salivary glands secrete saliva, which aids in digestion, mouth moisture, and tooth health. There are three main pairs of salivary glands under your jaw: parotid, sublingual, and submandibular. There are also a lot of other tiny salivary glands in your cheeks, throat, and mouth.

A salivary gland tumour could develop in any one of your salivary glands. They are mostly benign (noncancerous), but on rare occasions, they may be malignant. The majority of salivary gland tumours originate in the parotid glands.

Salivary gland tumours are usually treated with surgery to remove the tumour. Patients suffering from salivary gland cancer can require more therapies.

Causes Of Salivary Gland Tumours

Tumours of the salivary glands are rare. Salivary gland tumours start to grow when certain cells experience genetic alterations. The instructions that inform a cell what to do are encoded in its DNA.

The modifications give the cells the go-ahead to divide and multiply quickly. When healthy cells would normally perish, aberrant cells continue to exist. Cell accumulation results in the formation of a tumour.

Cancer may develop from the aberrant cells if other DNA abnormalities occur. Cancer cells can infiltrate surrounding tissue and cause tissue death. Once they separate from the tumour, they may potentially travel, or metastasise, to other parts of the body.

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Symptoms Of Salivary Gland Tumours

The following are some warning indicators and symptoms of a salivary gland tumour:

• A growth or lump in the jaw, throat, or mouth
• Your face is partially numb, with one side of its muscles showing signs of weakness.
• Persistent pain close to a salivary gland
• Having difficulty gulping
• You're having trouble opening your mouth wide

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Types Of Salivary Gland Tumors

Many different types of salivary gland tumours exist. Doctors classify salivary gland tumours based on the type of cells involved in the tumours. 

Types of malignant salivary gland tumours include:

• Salivary duct carcinoma
• Acinic cell carcinoma
• Mucoepidermoid carcinoma
• Oncocytic carcinoma
• Adenocarcinoma
• Adenoid cystic carcinoma
• Clear cell carcinoma
• Malignant mixed tumour
• Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma
• Squamous cell carcinoma

Types of noncancerous (benign) salivary gland tumours include:

• Canalicular adenoma
• Oncocytoma
• Pleomorphic adenoma
• Basal cell adenoma
• Warthin tumour

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Diagnosis Of Salivary Gland Tumours

The tests and methods listed below can be used to diagnose salivary gland tumours:

• Physical assessment. Your throat, jaw, and neck will be palpated by your doctor to feel for lumps or swelling.
• Imaging tests. To determine the location and dimensions of your salivary gland tumour, your physician may employ imaging techniques including positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerised tomography (CT), ultrasound, or X-ray.
• Taking a sample of tissue for examination (biopsy). To take a tissue sample, your doctor may recommend a fine-needle aspiration or a core needle biopsy. During the biopsy, the doctor inserts a tiny needle into the salivary gland to remove a sample of suspicious cells. In a lab, medical personnel look at the material to determine the types of cells.

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Treatment Of  Salivary Gland Tumours

Salivary gland tumours are usually treated with surgery to remove the tumour. Two additional therapies that people with cancers of the salivary glands may need are chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Procedures for Operation Salivary gland tumour surgery consist of:

• Removing the affected portion of the salivary gland: If the tumour is small and in a convenient place, your surgeon may remove it together with a small portion of the surrounding healthy tissue.
• Eliminating the salivary gland in its entirety: If the cancer is larger, your doctor may suggest excising the salivary gland entirely. If your cancer develops into these tissues, it might also be necessary to remove the face nerves, the skin, the facial bones, and the ducts that connect your salivary glands.
• Removing the lymph nodes in your neck: Should you have a malignant salivary gland tumour and there's a possibility that the illness has progressed to your cervical lymph nodes, your surgeon may suggest excising a portion of the nodes. The surgeon removes the lymph nodes that are most likely to have cancerous cells.
• Surgery aimed for reconstruction: Your doctor may recommend reconstructive surgery to repair the afflicted area once the tumour is removed. To replace any bone, skin, or nerves that were removed during your procedure, reconstructive surgery might be necessary.

Your ability to chew, swallow, speak, breathe, and move your face will all be improved by the repairs made by the reconstructive surgeon. Rebuilding parts of your mouth, face, neck, or jaws may need skin, tissue, bone, or nerve transfers from other parts of your body.

Because several vital nerves are located in and around the salivary glands, surgery involving these glands might be challenging. The parotid gland, for instance, is the passageway for a facial nerve that regulates facial movement.

Stretching or chopping critical nerves may be necessary to remove tumours that affect them. This may result in facial paralysis, either total or partial, which may be transient or, in certain cases, irreversible (facial droop). Surgeons try to protect these nerves as much as they can. Sometimes, severed nerves can be repaired using processed nerve transplants from donors or other sections of your body.

Radiation therapy

If salivary gland cancer is diagnosed, your doctor might recommend radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses powerful energy beams, such as protons and X-rays, to kill cancer cells. During radiation therapy, you lie on a table as a machine rotates around you, directing strong beams of light to specific parts of your body.

Neutron particle radiation treatment is a more contemporary modality of radiation therapy that may be more effective in treating some salivary gland tumours. Further study is necessary to completely understand the benefits and drawbacks of this treatment. Neutron radiation therapy is not widely available in the United States.

Radiation therapy can be used following surgery to eliminate any remaining cancer cells. If surgery is not an option because of a large tumour or because of its location, which makes removal too risky, your doctor may recommend radiation therapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a medicinal treatment that uses chemicals to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy is a treatment option for salivary gland cancer, although it's still being studied by doctors.

Chemotherapy may be an option for patients with advanced salivary gland cancer. On rare occasions, it complements radiation therapy.

Palliative Care

Palliative care refers to a speciality of medicine that aims to relieve pain and other signs and symptoms associated with a terminal illness. In addition to your continuing care, palliative care specialists collaborate with you, your family, and your other medical professionals to offer an additional level of support. While receiving more intensive medical treatments like radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or surgery, palliative care might be used.

Palliative care can help cancer patients feel better and survive longer when used in conjunction with all other approved treatments.

A group of medical specialists, nurses, and other professionals with specialised training offer palliative care. The goal of palliative care teams is to enhance the lives of cancer patients and their loved ones. This type of care is provided in addition to curative or other treatments you may be receiving.

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