Type, Grade & Stage

After diagnosing a patient with oral salivary gland cancer, a doctor will need to determine what type of cancer it is, as well as the grade of the tumor (i.e. the risk level) based on a biopsy or pathology after surgery. It is important to note that oral salivary gland cancers can be difficult to diagnose. If a doctor is having a hard time determining what type of cancer it is, he or she might ask for a second opinion and send a portion of the tumor off to a specialist in head and neck pathology who deals more frequently with these types of tumors.  

Type

Below are the five most common types of oral salivary gland cancer: 

• Mucoepidermoid carcinoma
  This is the most common type of oral salivary gland cancer (35%). Prognosis for this cancer is highly dependent on the grade of the cancer with low grade having a relatively good prognosis after complete surgical removal. 
• Acinic cell carcinoma
  This is the second most common type of oral salivary gland cancer, and similar to mucoepidermoid carcinoma, prognosis is closely associated with tumor grade.
• Adenoid cystic carcinoma
  This is a slow growing cancer that has a tendency to spread along nerves (perineural spread). While the immediate prognosis for this cancer can be good, it carries a high risk of future recurrence.
• Adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified
  Like the above mentioned oral salivary tumors, this tumor can be low, intermediate, or high grade. The higher the grade of adenocarcinoma, the more likely it is to spread to lymph nodes in the neck or to other sites in the body, requiring additional treatment.
• Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma
  This is usually a high grade tumor and tends to progress rapidly, though low-grade variants do exist. Low-grade carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma is rare, and may be mistaken for a benign, cellular pleomorphic adenoma. Many patients with carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma have a history of a benign growth (pleomorphic adenoma) that then rapidly grows in size. These tumors require multiple treatment modalities, including both surgery and radiation treatment and sometimes chemotherapy.

If a specific cancer diagnosis is not listed above, please click “Other Types of Cancer” to see more possible oral salivary gland cancer types.