[Therapeutic strategies for the treatment of parotid gland malignancies].

Parotid gland neoplasms include a quite heterogeneous group of histotypes with markedly different biological characteristics and evolution, thus requiring different forms of treatment. The present study evaluated the effects surgery and radiotherapy have on local disease control, survival rates and onset of locoregional recurrences. 126 malignant parotid tumors were examined (59 males, 67 females; age range 11 to 88 years; mean age 62 years) with a minimum of 1 year follow-up. The most malignant tumors were those most frequently seen in this case study (68%). Surgery was performed in 81 subjects (83.5%). Conservative total parotidectomy was the procedure most frequently performed (60/81, 74%). The overall 5-year survival rate was around 54% while 47% were "disease-free" patients at 5 years. When the subjects were broken down into 2 groups according to the degree of malignancy (high or low), the survival curve for disease-free subjects showed some differences (respectively 52% and 42%). The choice of treatment for the primary T significantly affect survival. Radiotherapy alone proved much less satisfactory than surgery (p < 0.01). The 5-year survival rate following a combination of surgery and subsequent radiotherapy was 52%, while it was 47% for those treated by surgery alone. An examination of the type of surgery performed revealed a difference in survival between those treated with preservation of the VII cranial nerve (52% at 5 years) and the more radical surgery (43% at 5 years) although this difference was not statistically significant. The incidence of recurrence was 25.7% (25 cases out of 97), of which 88% arose within the first 2 years. In conclusion, it has been seen that malignant parotid gland neoplasms are highly aggressive and the treatment of choice appears to be surgery plus radiotherapy whenever the clinical-biological features of the neoplasm warrant it. The surgical approach to the facial nerve should be as conservative as possible, reserving utmost radicality for the most advanced cases compromising the adjacent structures.