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Summary
Your salivary glands make saliva - sometimes called spit - and empty it into your mouth through openings called ducts. Saliva makes your food moist, which helps you chew and swallow. It helps you digest your food. It also cleans your mouth and contains antibodies that can kill germs.
Salivary gland cancer is a type of head and neck cancer. It is rare. It may not cause any symptoms, or you could notice:
- A lump in your ear, cheek, jaw, lip, or inside the mouth
- Fluid draining from your ear
- Trouble swallowing or opening the mouth widely
- Numbness, weakness, or pain in your face
Doctors diagnose salivary gland cancer using a physical exam, imaging tests, and a biopsy. Treatment can include surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Diagnosis and Tests
- Salivary Gland Cancer Tests (American Cancer Society)
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Risk Factors for Salivary Gland Cancer (American Cancer Society)
Treatments and Therapies
- Treatment Option Overview (Salivary Gland Cancer) (National Cancer Institute)
Living With
- Living as a Salivary Gland Cancer Survivor (American Cancer Society)
Statistics and Research
- What's New in Salivary Gland Cancer Research? (American Cancer Society)
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Salivary Gland Neoplasms (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: The Impact of Inflammation on the Etiopathogenesis of Benign Salivary Gland...
- Article: Reappraisal of Oncocytic Adenocarcinoma: Unveiling Its Connection to Oncocytic Variants of...
- Article: Sentinel lymph node biopsy in cT1-2N0 minor salivary gland cancer in...
- Salivary Gland Cancer -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- American Cancer Society
- Choosing a Cancer Doctor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- Find an ENT (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
- National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
- National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Also in Spanish
- Organizations that Offer Cancer Support Services (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Children
- Childhood Salivary Gland Tumors Treatment (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Salivary gland biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Salivary gland tumors (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Sialogram (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Swallowing problems (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish