Tumors of the parotid gland

The clinicopathologic behavior of 153 primary tumors of the parotid gland is reviewed. Of these 153 tumors, 111 were malignant and forty-two were benign. None of the benign tumors was fatal, and only two of the forty-two patients had a single recurrence. Of the 111 patients with malignant tumors, fifty-eight (53 per cent) are currently living and free of disease at five years or longer. Thirty-two of the 111 patients had one or more local recurrences (29 per cent) and only four of these are living and free of disease. Thirty-six patients (31 per cent) of those with malignant tumor died of their disease; the majority of these had uncontrolled local disease. Seventeen patients died of unrelated causes; of these, six lived more than five years without a recurrence.The treatment of choice for all primary tumors of the parotid gland is parotidectomy, generally total, in continuity with the first echelon of lymph nodes. Unless invaded by tumor, the facial nerve is preserved. A radical neck dissection is recommended only in the presence of clinically or histologically proved metastasis to the regional or cervical lymph nodes.