Tumors of the major salivary glands in children

Thirty-eight tumors, or 1.7%, of a series of 2,135 patients with tumors of the major salivary glands, occurred in patients 16 years of age or below. An equal incidence of malignant and benign lesions was noted in this series. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma and benign mixed tumors were the most common tumors encountered. The treatment of choice is subtotal parotidectomy or submaxillary dissection. Further surgery is dependent upon the histologic diagnosis and clinical setting, i.e., the location of the primary tumor and the presence or absence of cervical nodal metastases. The overall determinate 5- and 10-year survival in this series was 96%; for malignant lesions alone, it was 94% and 93%, respectively.