Role of Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy in Salivary Gland Neoplasms

Oral cancer is the second most common cancer in India. Salivary gland tumors are rare and have very wide histological heterogenecity, thus making difficult to generate high level evidence. The major salivary glands are parotid, submandibular and sublingual glands. A wide variety of conditions including obstructive, infectious, autoimmune and neoplastic pathologies affects salivary glands. In this review clinical features, investigations, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are included and mainly focuses the management approaches. Surgical management being ideal for salivary gland neoplasms, radiotherapy and chemotherapy also give hand for better treatment outcomes. The choice of radiotherapy and chemotherapy depends upon the grade and stage of the disease. The treatment plan differs for each case and we had highlighted the common treatment protocols that can be followed for salivary gland malignancies.