3^rd European Otolaryngology-ENT Surgery Conference

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the role of neck dissection in patients with high-grade salivary carcinomas who have

received radiotherapy.

Methodology: An ethics approved retrospective case review conducted from January 1969 to December 2015 at a tertiary referral Head and Neck Cancer Center in Sydney, Australia. Patients were selected for those who had previously had a histology proven high-grade untreated salivary gland carcinoma; 47 patients were found meeting this criterion. Patients were assessed as to whether they received primary surgery with or without radiotherapy, and whether they had undergone a neck dissection. The mean follow-up period was 57 months (SD= 56.69 months).

Results: All patients underwent primary surgical resection; only 7 patients (28.7%) did not receive radiotherapy, with 37 (78.7%) patients undergoing neck dissection. The highest incidence at a primary site was found in the parotid gland (72.3%), with the predominant pathology being adenocarcinoma (42.6%). Patients who underwent surgery and radiotherapy and those who underwent surgery only showed no significance difference in rate of recurrence (P=0.7). In the neck dissection group 12 (66.7%) patients had recurrence, at either local or nodal site (P=0.058).

Conclusions: Patients who have under gone radiotherapy and neck dissection for high-grade salivary gland carcinomas, likely do not benefit from a neck dissection in decreasing their risk of recurrence.