Am J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg | Volume 1, Issue 2 | Review Article | Open Access

Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of Head and Neck

R De Berardinis*, A Viziano, Micarelli A, M Alessandrini and E Bruno

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy

*Correspondance to: Rita De Berardinis 

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Abstract

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is an uncommon salivary gland tumour that often may arise with an advanced stage at diagnosis. The clinical and pathological patterns are characterized by slow growth, peri-neural invasion, multiple local recurrences and distant metastases. The optimal treatment is generally radical surgical resection and is almost always followed by postoperative radiotherapy. Much effort has been invested into understanding the tumour’s molecular biological processes, aiming to identify patients at high risk of recurrence, in hope that they could benefit from other, still unproven treatment modalities such as chemotherapy or biological therapy. This article provides an update on the current understanding of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck, including a review of its epidemiology, clinical behavior, pathology, molecular biology, diagnostic workup, treatment and prognosis.

Keywords:

Adenoid cystic carcinoma; Head and neck; Salivary glands; Review

Citation:

De Berardinis R, Viziano A, Micarelli A, Alessandrini M , Bruno E. Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of Head and Neck. Am J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018;1(2):1010.

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