A New Era in Salivary Gland Carcinoma Treatment: A Case Report

Cureus. 2023 Aug 5;15(8):e42983. doi: 10.7759/cureus.42983. eCollection 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Salivary gland cancers are rare and heterogenous malignancies which makes it hard to standardize treatments with good evidence levels. The localized disease approach is well established, with surgery to the primary site and adjuvant radiation therapy in patients with high-risk features. Treatment of advanced disease should be multidisciplinary. Local approaches, which include radiation therapy, surgery, and thermoablation, among others, have the potential to achieve durable disease control with low toxicity. Chemotherapy has shown disappointing results, so systemic treatment should be guided by actionable genetic alterations, which in salivary gland cancers rely on the histologic type. When directed molecular tests are not useful, a multigene panel should be performed. This case is a good example of how to integrate all these possible tretaments in clinical practice, including molecular testing and target treatment.

Keywords: actionable genomic alterations; her2-positive; local treatment; next generation sequencing (ngs); salivary gland carcinoma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports