LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP OF OVER 1000 PATIENTS WITH SALIVARY-GLAND TUMORS TREATED IN A SINGLE-CENTER

Between 1947 and 1992, 1403 patients with 1432 salivary gland tumours were treated at the Christie Hospital, Manchester. There were 1194 epi thelial neoplasms: parotid, 1082 (91 per cent); submandibular, 47 (4 p er cent); minor glands, 65 (5 per cent). The commonest histological di agnoses were pleomorphic adenoma (n = 776) and adenolymphoma (n = 159) . A total of 244 carcinomas were seen (adenoid cystic carcinoma, n = 7 5). Treatment was primarily surgical, conservative where possible, and determined by tumour extent and not histology. Adjuvant radiation the rapy was used in over half the definitively treated malignancies, The recurrence tumours rate following the treatment of 551 new parotid ple omorphic adenomas was 1.6 per cent at median followup 12.5 (range 1-34 ) years, increasing to 15 per cent in the secondarily referred group ( n = 170), For patients with definitively treated primary salivary carc inomas (n = 148), the disease-free survival rate at 5, 10 and 15 years was 58, 47 and 45 per cent respectively. Using multivariate analysis, clinical stage was the most important predictor of survival; the 10-y ear survival rate for stages I-IV was 96, 70, 47 and 19 per cent respe ctively.