Parotid cancer treatment with surgery followed by radiotherapy in Oxford over 15 years

<jats:sec><jats:title>INTRODUCTION</jats:title><jats:p> Primary parotid malignancies represent a rare diagnosis, making high-quality comparative research unfeasible. There is little UK-based evidence to guide practice. A review was therefore undertaken of a large series of patients treated by a multidisciplinary team in a National Health Service tertiary referral centre. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>PATIENTS AND METHODS</jats:title><jats:p> Retrospective patient record review at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford identified 401 patients who had undergone parotidectomy between 1995 and 2010, of whom 50 subjects were given a definitive diagnosis of primary parotid malignancy, treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. Case notes, histology and imaging were reviewed by the study team. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>RESULTS</jats:title><jats:p> The median follow up for the cohort was 60 months (range: 1-108 months). Facial nerve function was preserved in all patients undergoing partial or total conservative parotidectomy. Although histology showed microscopically close or positive margins in 82% of cases, all patients underwent postoperative radiotherapy and locoregional recurrence was identified in only two (4%) patients. </jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>CONCLUSIONS</jats:title><jats:p> The data presented demonstrate a reasonable and practical multidisciplinary approach to a complex management problem. Facial nerve sparing surgery and postoperative radiotherapy result in good control of locoregional disease. </jats:p></jats:sec>