REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Head and Neck Cancer
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1579680
Surgical management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma metastatic to the parotid gland
Provisionally accepted
Michał Gontarz1*
Marta Urbańska2Jakub Bargiel1Krzysztof Gąsiorowski1Tomasz Marecik1Grażyna Wyszyńska- Pawelec1- 1Department of Cranio Maxillofacial Surgery, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Cracow, Poland
- 2Amethyst Radiotherapy Centre in Cracow, Poland, Cracow, Poland
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The parotid gland includes lymph nodes that may contain metastasis from the head and neck region, as well as distant metastasis or metastasis from carcinoma/melanoma of an unknown primary (CUP/MUP). The purpose of this study was to review current literature in order to evaluate the role of surgical management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).A narrative review of the English language literature available in the PubMed and Embase databases from January 2010 to December 2024 was conducted to identify methods of treatment and follow-up data for HNSCC metastatic to the parotid gland. This article provides a detailed overview of the histological and diagnostic imaging characteristics, as well as the surgical and non-surgical procedures employed in the management of HNSCC metastases to the parotid gland. Furthermore, the management of CUP has been outlined. The extent of parotidectomy and concomitant neck dissection remains a topic of ongoing debate. The flow chart presented in the article may assist in the process of decision-making regarding surgical treatment. Given that locoregional recurrence represents the primary cause of mortality in HNSCC, the proposed surgical treatment is likely to be the most effective means of achieving a favorable outcome.
Keywords: Parotid metastasis, Secondary tumor, Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, Carcinoma of unknown primary, elective parotidectomy
Received: 19 Feb 2025; Accepted: 30 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Gontarz, Urbańska, Bargiel, Gąsiorowski, Marecik and Wyszyńska- Pawelec. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Michał Gontarz, Department of Cranio Maxillofacial Surgery, Jagiellonian University, Medical College, Cracow, Poland
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