Salivary gland tumor care at Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic specialists provide expert, personalized care to people with salivary gland tumors.
Your Mayo Clinic care team
At Mayo Clinic, ear, nose and throat specialists provide comprehensive care for people with salivary gland tumors. These doctors also are called ENT specialists or otolaryngologists. They work in a team with other specialists. This may include radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and rehabilitation medicine specialists. Other professionals are included as needed.
Salivary gland cancer care is coordinated by the Head and Neck Cancer Center.
Advanced diagnosis and treatment
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Mayo Clinic doctors use the latest treatment options and technology to diagnose and treat cancer, including:
- Technical expertise in surgery. Surgery to remove a salivary gland can be complicated because several important nerves are located in and around the salivary glands. Mayo Clinic head and neck surgeons have extensive experience in minimally invasive surgical techniques that reduce the effects of tumor removal on your appearance. Mayo Clinic surgeons work to minimize the scar from the surgical incision, preserve facial nerves and reconstruct the surgery site.
- Accurate and timely diagnosis to guide treatment. Sometimes a sample of tumor tissue is tested during surgery to see if it's cancer. A pathologist looks at the sample right away and tells the surgeon if the tumor is cancerous. This is sometimes called frozen section pathology. Frozen section pathology allows Mayo Clinic surgeons to make excellent and reliable intraoperative decisions based on the accurate diagnosis of the tumor.
- The latest innovations in radiation therapy. Newer radiation therapy treatments allow specialists to carefully control radiation beams in order to customize treatment for salivary gland cancer. Technologies include intensity-modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery and proton therapy. These technologies deliver powerful radiation to tumor cells while limiting radiation to critical healthy tissues nearby, such as the eyes, optic nerves, brain, brainstem and spinal cord.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic doctors are widely respected for the experience and expertise in caring for people with salivary gland tumors. When you seek care at Mayo Clinic, you can expect:
- Personalized care. Mayo Clinic head and neck surgeons work together with facial plastic surgeons to ensure all of your needs are addressed when creating your customized treatment plan. Other experts are included, depending on your particular needs, including radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, rehabilitation medicine specialists, pathologists and radiologists.
- Experience you can trust. Each year, hundreds of people with salivary gland tumors receive care at Mayo Clinic. This experience means your care team is prepared with the knowledge and resources to provide you with exactly the care you need.
- Nationally recognized expertise. Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a U.S. National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.