Minor salivary gland malignancies in the pediatric population.

Background: Minor salivary gland malignancies in children are rare and data on treatment and outcomes are limited.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients with the pathologic diagnosis of minor salivary gland malignancy at a tertiary care cancer hospital was used to conduct this review.

Results: From 1952 to 2006, 35 children with minor salivary gland cancers were treated at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Mean age was 15.2 +/- 2.9 years with a slight female predominance. Recurrence occurred in 4 patients and was significantly associated with positive margins, advanced stage, and high histologic grade. Overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were 89.3% and 88.4%, respectively, at 5 years. Advanced stage, positive margins, and high grade were associated with adverse survival.

Conclusions: Minor salivary gland malignancies in children are rare. Surgical resection with clear margins yields excellent outcomes in patients with low-intermediate grade and early stage tumors. Patients with high-grade malignancies do poorly despite multimodality therapy.