Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006;45(6):662-8.
doi: 10.1080/02841860600801316.

Insights into a complex group of neoplastic disease: advances in histopathologic classification and molecular pathology of salivary gland cancer

Affiliations
Review

Insights into a complex group of neoplastic disease: advances in histopathologic classification and molecular pathology of salivary gland cancer

Ilmo Leivo. Acta Oncol. 2006.

Abstract

Cancers of major and minor salivary glands represent a histopathologic challenge in two major respects. The first challenge is the complexity of morphologic features and overlapping of histologic patterns in the different tumor entities many of which are relatively rare. The number of separate tumor entities to be considered in differential diagnosis has greatly increased in the two latest WHO classification systems 12 (Table I). The second challenge is prognostication based on histopathology. The clinical experience is that behavior of some salivary gland carcinomas does not correlate well with their histopathologic classification, and that tumors classified within the same category may exhibit quite different clinical outcomes. However, recent advances in histopathological classification have been combined with new tools in immunohistochemical diagnosis and prognostication including cell-proliferation markers, myoepithelial antigens, matrix metalloproteinases, steroid receptors, growth factors and their receptors. These have improved our possibilities for more specific choices in the treatment of a variety of salivary gland carcinomas. This paper will give an overview on recent developments in histopathological classification, prognostication, and molecular pathology of salivary gland cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources