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Salivary gland tumours

Neoplasmata glandularum salivarium · Nádory slinných žláz

What it is

Lumps growing in a salivary gland — 8 in 10 in the parotid, and most there benign (pleomorphic adenoma, Warthin's tumour); the smaller the gland, the likelier cancer. The facial nerve runs through the parotid.

Symptoms & signs

  • Painless lump in front of or below the ear or under the jaw
  • slow growth over months or years
  • pain, fast growth or facial weakness — signs of cancer
  • numbness, a fixed lump

🚩 Get help if…

  • see a doctor soon Lump in front of the ear or under the jaw that grows
  • see a doctor soon Weakness or drooping of one side of the face
  • see a doctor soon Pain, numbness or a hard, fixed lump
  • see a doctor soon Lump with bleeding in the mouth or a neck gland

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Ultrasound with fine-needle biopsy, MRI
  • surgery (parotidectomy) with the facial nerve kept — pleomorphic adenoma recurs if cut into
  • radiotherapy after surgery for high-grade cancers
  • temporary facial weakness after surgery, sweating while eating (Frey's syndrome)

Natural & lifestyle

  • No smoking — linked to Warthin's tumour
  • have any lasting lump checked

Emerging & experimental

  • Targeted drugs for HER2, androgen receptor or NTRK-driven cancers
  • immunotherapy trials

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Lemon drops and massage for a lump — help dry mouth after radiotherapy, not the tumour anecdotal / traditional
  • Herbal 'lump dissolving' remedies — none shown to work not confirmed in trials

ICD codes