Objective To study the pathogenesis and the clinical therapy of salivary gland tumor. Methods The analysis was performed in 126 cases of salivary gland tumor treated from 1990 to the end of 1998. Results The salivary gland tumor often occurred between 10 and 76 years old

and most of them were male. About 76.2 percent of all tumors of the salivary glands were located in parotid gland

and most of them were nonmalignant. The salivary gland tumors seldom occurred in the small salivary gland

(9.5% only)

and they were mostly malignant .The diagnosis depended on the fine needle biopsy

ultrasonic

CT

MRI and clinical examination.The treatment plan should follow the principles of tumor surgery. The primary tumor and the metastases to cervical lymph nodes should be resected and the post-operational radiation therapy was also needed. Conclusion The effective method to cure salivary gland tumors mainly relied on operation which was combined with radiation therapy.