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Review
. 2011 Sep 14:3:40.
doi: 10.1186/1758-3284-3-40.

An overview of the rare parotid gland cancer

Kimberley Ho  1 , Helen Lin, David K Ann, Peiguo G Chu, Yun Yen
Affiliations
Review

An overview of the rare parotid gland cancer

Kimberley Ho et al. Head Neck Oncol. .

Abstract

Cancer of the parotid gland is relatively rare, but carries poor prognosis owing to its prevailing distant metastases. In addition to the disease's basic epidemiology and pathology, we review some current discoveries of its tumorigenesis molecular mechanism. Based on published salivary gland cancer clinical trial data, non-surgical antitumor efficacies amongst a range of chemotherapy, radiation, and concurrent therapy regimens are compared. We also present the current development status of novel radiation therapy and targeted therapeutics, focusing on intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) blockages, which are showing promise for improving parotid gland cancer management.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ilustration of a facial dissection with major salivary glands identified [1].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Salivary gland benign tumor pathology (200 ×).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Salivary gland malignant tumor pathology (200 ×).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Diagram of tumorigenesis mechanism. Loss of VPS4 function promotes salivary gland tumorigenesis through its effect of prolonging the duration of EGFR signaling.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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