[Results of radiation therapy of carcinoma of the salivary glands].

The results of radiation therapy in 152 patients with carcinoma of the major and minor salivary glands during the past 30 years were analyzed. Long-term survivors with recurrent disease and/or distant metastasis were common in the minor salivary glands as compared to the major salivary glands. The effects of radiation therapy depend on the degree of residual tumor after surgery. The treatment of choice for the tumor must be the surgery. However, local control was obtained by radiation therapy in many patients treated with brachytherapy or intracavitary electron beam in the minor salivary glands with a slight degree of residual tumor.