Salivary Gland Cancer Treatment Option Overview

There are different types of treatment for patients with salivary gland cancer.

Different types of treatment are available for patients with salivary gland cancer. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. A treatment clinical trial is a research study meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with cancer. When clinical trials show that a new treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment. Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.

Patients with salivary gland cancer should have their treatment planned by a team of health care providers who are experts in treating head and neck cancer.

Treatment will be overseen by a medical oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating cancer. Because the salivary glands help in eating and digesting food, patients may need special help adjusting to the side effects of the cancer and its treatment. The medical oncologist may refer you to other health care providers who have experience and expertise in treating patients with head and neck cancer and who specialize in certain areas of medicine. These may include the following specialists:

• Head and neck surgeon.
• Radiation oncologist.
• Dentist.
• Speech therapist.
• Dietitian.
• Psychologist.
• Rehabilitation specialist.
• Plastic surgeon.

The following types of treatment are used:

Surgery

Surgery (removing the cancer in an operation) is a common treatment for salivary gland cancer. A doctor may remove the cancer and some of the healthy tissue around the cancer. In some cases, a lymphadenectomy (surgery in which lymph nodes are removed) will also be done.

After the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing.

• External radiation therapy uses a machine outside the body to send radiation toward the area of the body with cancer.

  Special types of external radiation may be used to treat some salivary gland tumors. These include:

  • Fast neutron radiation therapy: Fast neutron radiation therapy is a type of high-energy external radiation therapy. A radiation therapy machine aims neutrons (tiny, invisible particles) at the cancer cells to kill them. Fast neutron radiation therapy uses a higher-energy radiation than the x-ray type of radiation therapy. This allows the radiation therapy to be given in fewer treatments.
  • Photon-beam radiation therapy: Photon-beam radiation therapy is a type of external radiation therapy that reaches deep tumors with high-energy x-rays made by a machine called a linear accelerator. This can be delivered as hyperfractionated radiation therapy, in which the total dose of radiation is divided into small doses, and the treatments are given more than once a day.

External radiation therapy is used to treat salivary gland cancer and may also be used as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. When chemotherapy is taken by mouth or injected into a vein or muscle, the drugs enter the bloodstream and can reach cancer cells throughout the body (systemic chemotherapy).

See Drugs Approved for Head and Neck Cancer for more information. (Salivary gland cancer is a type of head and neck cancer.)

New types of treatment are being tested in clinical trials.

This summary section describes treatments that are being studied in clinical trials. It may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Radiosensitizers

Radiosensitizers are drugs that make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy. Combining radiation therapy with radiosensitizers may kill more tumor cells.

Treatment for salivary gland cancer may cause side effects.

For information about side effects caused by treatment for cancer, visit our Side Effects page.

Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.

For some patients, taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice. Clinical trials are part of the cancer research process. Clinical trials are done to find out if new cancer treatments are safe and effective or better than the standard treatment.

Many of today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. Patients who take part in a clinical trial may receive the standard treatment or be among the first to receive a new treatment.

Patients who take part in clinical trials also help improve the way cancer will be treated in the future. Even when clinical trials do not lead to effective new treatments, they often answer important questions and help move research forward.

Patients can enter clinical trials before, during, or after starting their cancer treatment.

Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring (coming back) or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.

Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. Information about clinical trials supported by NCI can be found on NCI’s clinical trials search webpage. Clinical trials supported by other organizations can be found on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.

Follow-up tests may be needed.

As you go through treatment, you will have follow-up tests or check-ups. Some tests that were done to diagnose or stage the cancer may be repeated to see how well the treatment is working. Decisions about whether to continue, change, or stop treatment may be based on the results of these tests.

Some of the tests will continue to be done from time to time after treatment has ended. The results of these tests can show if your condition has changed or if the cancer has recurred (come back).