Surgical management of pediatric salivary malignant tumors-A single-center cohort study

Background: The purpose of this study was to report incidence, clinicopathologic behavior, management, and outcome of pediatric patients treated surgically for salivary gland (SG) malignancies.

Methods: Patients who underwent surgery for SG malignancies from 1985 to 2015 were identified. Clinical, pathological, treatment and outcomes data were collected. Disease-specific survival (DSS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method.

Results: Twenty-eight pediatric patients were included. The most common histopathological types were mucoepidermoid (n = 18, 64.3%), acinic cell (n = 7, 25.0%), adenoid cystic (n = 2, 7.1%), and adenocarcinoma (n = 1, 3.6%). Surgical approach varied and ranged from superficial parotidectomy (n = 11, 39.3%) to partial maxillectomy (n = 6, 21.4%). Nine patients (32%) required postoperative radiotherapy. DSS, OS, and RFS probability at 5 years were 96.4%, 96.4%, and 89.3%, respectively.

Conclusion: Pediatric SG malignancies are rare and have favorable outcome at 5 years. Larger, multi-institutional studies are required to better understand the natural history of these rare tumors.