Abstract
Malignant salivary gland tumors are rare and their pathologic type is mostly adenocarcinoma, which is relatively slow-growing. Because the tumors are considered to be radioresistant, the first choice of treatment is surgery and conventional radiotherapy is usually combined when the tumor margin is close or incomplete. Recently, the availability of heavy ion beam therapy has increased the cure rate of radioresistant tumors. This article reviews the role of conventional radiotherapy, the prospects for heavy ion beam therapy, and emerging problems in the treatment of malignant salivary gland tumors.
