JUSTIN C.K. DAVIS, M.D.: Hi. My name is Dr. Justin Davis, and today I would like to tell you about salivary gland cancer. Salivary gland cancer is a kind of cancer that occurs in the salivary glands. The salivary glands are mostly located in the mouth, but also a little bit in the neck and the throat, and these are glands that produce saliva. Well, if the inner lining of these or some part of these developed cells that are cancerous that it starts to go out of control, we then call it salivary gland cancer. The causes of salivary gland cancer are not entirely clear, but it is thought that some of the things that may be more likely to cause it would be a family history, so if someone in your family has been diagnosed with salivary gland cancer, it is important to make sure that you are screened regularly. Other things would be excessive alcohol consumption, use of tobacco products or chewing tobacco, and also exposure to some kind of radiation may increase your chances of salivary gland cancer. So, how would you know if you have it? Well, there are a number of things that may cause similar symptoms, but some of the symptoms that are associated with salivary gland cancer would be a pain or a lump in the salivary glands, swollen lymph nodes around the bottom of the chin or in the throat. You may also have difficulty swallowing or be spitting up bloody mucus or bloody phlegm. As you can imagine, there is a number of symptoms depending upon exactly where and how severe the salivary gland cancer is. Treatment is also dependent upon the location and the severity of the cancer. Usually, the first line of treatment may be surgery or removing the cancerous cells and the glands that have the cancer in them. This is usually followed by radiation therapy and sometimes chemotherapy to try to eliminate the rest of the cells. Also, many techniques today have been developed by specialized surgeons that they can try to reconstruct the areas that have had the surgery so that they function and look as best as possible. Again, we do not know how to prevent this precisely, because we do not always know what causes it. But it is best to have regular screening exams, especially by a dentist who may check your salivary glands when doing an exam on the rest of your mouth and your teeth. And it is also important that if you do notice some kind of change or some new lump or unexplained swollen lymph nodes, that you let a doctor or a dentist know right away.
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