Type, Grade & Stage

This is the second most common type of salivary gland cancer, and similar to mucoepidermoid carcinoma, prognosis is closely associated with tumor grade.

This is a slow growing cancer that has a tendency to spread along nerves (perineural spread). While the immediate prognosis for this cancer can be good, it carries a high risk of future recurrence.

Like the above mentioned salivary tumors, this tumor can be low, intermediate, or high grade. The higher the grade of adenocarcinoma, the more likely it is to spread to lymph nodes in the neck or to other sites in the body, requiring additional treatment.

This is usually a high grade tumor and tends to progress rapidly, though low-grade variants do exist. Low-grade carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma is rare, and may be mistaken for a benign, cellular pleomorphic adenoma. Many patients with carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma have a history of a benign growth (pleomorphic adenoma) that then rapidly grows in size. These tumors require multiple treatment modalities, including both surgery and radiation treatment and sometimes chemotherapy.

This is the most common type of salivary gland cancer (35%). Prognosis for this cancer is highly dependent on the grade of the cancer with low grade having a relatively good prognosis after complete surgical removal.