Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the parotid gland: a rare entity

Abstract

SUMMARYPrimary squamous cell carcinoma of the parotid gland is a rare aggressive malignancy. It is a rapidly advancing lesion which, if not recognised and treated early, results in high morbidity and mortality. Despite radical surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy, prognosis of this cancer continues to be poor. Careful clinical and histological examination is mandatory to differentiate this tumour from metastatic squamous cell carcinoma and other primary malignancies of the parotid. The authors hereby report the case of a 50-year-old male patient who presented with a progressively increasing, painless mass in parotid region of 6 months duration. An initial fineneedle aspiration cytology and subsequent histopathological examination confirmed that the tumour was squamous cell carcinoma. As no other primary source could be demonstrated in the patient, a final diagnosis of primary squamous cell carcinoma of parotid was offered. Currently the patient is on regular follow-up without any signs of recurrence. BACKGROUND

Patterns of treatment failure in salivary gland cancers

“…What is more, in our study we decided to exclude patients with squamous cell carcinoma as it mostly represents metastatic skin cancer rather than a primary salivary gland malignancy. 6 Distant recurrence was the most common pattern of failure in our study. Multiple reports revealed that it actually ranged from 11.1% to 52% of cases constituting the most likely reason for poor outcome.…”

The Role of CD44 AND SOX-2 Cancer Stem cell Markers in The Development and Progression of Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma and Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Salivary Glands

“…Adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy depends on the degree of tumor distribution. 10,11 The most established theory for the etiopathogenesis of cancer is that the tumor begins as a solitary cell which has some features of that of the normal stem cells. 12,13 This cancer stem cells (CSCs) have an important role in tumor progression, recurrence, therapeutic resistance and metastasis in many types of cancers as pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and head and neck cancer.…”

Outcomes of Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Major Salivary Glands Treated by Surgery With or Without Postoperative Radiotherapy

“…5 If primary SCC is not treated early and effectively, it often advances rapidly and results in high morbidity and mortality. 6,7 Owing to the low incidence of primary SCC, it is often discussed together with other histologic malignancies or metastatic SCC of the major salivary glands. Furthermore, most previous studies have included only a small number of primary SCC cases.…”