1. Biology Dictionary
  2. Salivary gland cancer

Salivary gland cancer

Definition:

Salivary gland carcinomas are rare tumours representing about 0.5% of all malignancies and less than 5 % of all head and neck cancers. These are a heterogeneous group of tumors that include 24 histologically distinct tumor types. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland tumor in adults and children. The most common genetic alteration in MECs is a unique translocation t(11;19)(q21;p13) producing the MECT1-MAML2 fusion protein. This fusion transcript can activate transcription of targets in the Notch pathway. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) overexpression is present in a minority of MECs and is associated with higher rate of metastasis and worse overall survival. Recent studies have evaluated the epidermal growth factor receptor family including EGFR and HER2 as potential therapeutic targets.

Biomedical Dictionary

The Biomedical Dictionary is a comprehensive and professional collection of biological academic terms and subject datas. All explanations are supported by authoritative books or high impact factor literatures, and you can acquire accurate explanations of the biomedical terms you want to know.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #