Suspected salivary gland cancer if mouth looks crooked and swollen...Watch out for middle-aged people
Feb 04, 2025
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Salivary gland cancer (salivary gland cancer) is a disease in which malignant tumors occur in the salivary glands that produce and secrete saliva, and it is a rare cancer that accounts for only 3-6% of all head and neck cancers. The salivary glands are divided into main salivary glands, which are large and involved in most salivary production, and small butyx glands. Salivary gland cancer can occur anywhere in the upper airway digestive tract, such as the nasal cavity, palate, cheek, oral mucosa, tongue base, larynx, and bronchi, where butyx glands are distributed as well as the main salivary glands.
Salivary gland cancer is found as a lump that grows slowly under the ear or under the chin, and in advanced cancer, pain is accompanied, and facial expressions are asymmetrical due to facial nerve paralysis. Due to lymphatic metastasis, a lump may be touched in the neck, and it may lead to lung metastasis and bone metastasis.
Salivary gland cancer occurs mainly in middle-aged people in their 50s and 60s, and benign tumors frequently occur in their mid-40s, younger than that. Salivary gland tumors occur most frequently in the parotid gland, and tumors in the parotid gland are often benign, while tumors in the parotid gland or butyx gland are often malignant, requiring caution.
The cause of salivary gland cancer is not clear, but genetic mutations, a history of exposure to radiation, excessive smoking and drinking, and occupational carcinogenic dust exposure can be risk factors. In addition, it is known that the incidence rate increases even in cases of long-term chronic inflammation such as Sjogren syndrome.
For salivary gland cancer, the location and degree of invasion of the lesion can be diagnosed through ultrasound, fine needle aspiration cytology, CT, MRI, PET, etc. Treatment methods vary depending on histological form, malignancy, and facial nerve involvement.
Initially, it can be treated by surgery, and if cancer cells spread to the cervical lymph nodes, the lymph nodes and cancer cells are removed together. Radiation therapy is performed when cancer cells are expected to remain microscopic after surgery, when histologically bad prognosis is expected, when recurrence occurs, when invasion into surrounding tissues is widespread, when cervical lymphatic metastasis is severe, and when nerve involvement is present.
Professor Baek Seung-guk of the otolaryngology department at Korea University's Anam Hospital advised, `It is important to recognize the disease early because all salivary gland tumors, including salivary gland cancer, have a good treatment result if they are detected early, but if they miss the timing, they will have a bad prognosis.'
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
