Myoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary glands: behavior and management.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the biological behavior and proper management of myoepithelial carcinomas of salivary glands.

METHODS: Twenty-seven cases of myoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands were retrospectively studied and their detailed clinical and follow-up data were presented.

RESULTS: The subjects consisted of 17 men and 10 women aged 16 to 73 years (mean age: 51 years). The parotid gland was the most common site (n = 14) of cancer. Clinical features included extensive local growth, invasion of the surrounding tissues, infrequent cervical lymph node metastasis but high rates of distant metastasis, frequent/multiple recurrences and poor prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS: Myoepithelial carcinomas of the salivary gland should be classified as high-grade malignancies. Early and radical surgery with close follow-up are essential for achieving favorable outcomes. Radiotherapy appears to be non-sensitive and elective neck dissection is generally unnecessary.