The treatment of a Pancoast lung cancer may differ from that of other types of non-small cell lung cancer. Its position and close proximity to vital structures (such as nerves and spine) may make surgery difficult. As a result, and depending on the stage of the cancer, treatment may involve radiation and chemotherapy given prior to surgery (neoadjuvant treatment).

Surgery may consist of the removal of the upper lobe of a lung together with its associated structures (subclavian artery, vein, branches of the brachial plexus, ribs and vertebral bodies), as well as mediastinal lymphadenectomy. Surgical access may be via thoracotomy from the back or the front of the chest and modifications

Overall, the mainstay of the treatment for salivary gland tumor is surgical resection. Needle biopsy is highly recommended prior to surgery to confirm the diagnosis. More detailed surgical technique and the support for additional adjuvant radiotherapy depends on whether the tumor is malignant or benign.

Surgical treatment of parotid gland tumors is sometimes difficult, partly because of the anatomical relationship of the facial nerve and the parotid lodge, but also through the increased potential for postoperative relapse. Thus, detection of early stages of a tumor of the parotid gland is extremely important in terms of prognosis after surgery.

Generally, benign tumors of the parotid gland are treated with superficial(Patey's operation) or total parotidectomy with the latter being the more commonly practiced due to high incidence of recurrence. The facial nerve should be preserved whenever possible. The benign tumors of the submandibular gland is treated by simple excision with preservation of mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve, the hypoglossal nerve, and the lingual nerve. Other benign tumors of minor salivary glands are treated similarly.

Malignant salivary tumors usually require wide local resection of the primary tumor. However, if complete resection cannot be achieved, adjuvant radiotherapy should be added to improve local control. This surgical treatment has many sequellae such as cranial nerve damage, Frey's syndrome, cosmetic problems, etc.

Usually about 44% of the patients have a complete histologic removal of the tumor and this refers to the most significant survival rate.

The treatment of choice for both benign and malignant SFT is complete "en bloc" surgical resection.

Prognosis in benign SFTs is excellent. About 8% will recur after first resection, with the recurrence usually cured after additional surgery.

The prognosis in malignant SFTs is much more guarded. Approximately 63% of patients will have a recurrence of their tumor, of which more than half will succumb to disease progression within 2 years. Adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy in malignant SFT remains controversial.

Treatment may include the following:

- Surgery with or without radiation

- Radiotherapy

Fast neutron therapy has been used successfully to treat salivary gland tumors, and has shown to be significantly more effective than photons in studies treating unresectable salivary gland tumors.

- Chemotherapy

SCTs are very rare in adults, and as a rule these tumors are benign and have extremely low potential for malignancy. This estimation of potential is based on the idea that because the tumor existed for decades prior to diagnosis, without becoming malignant, it has little or no potential to ever become malignant. For this reason, and because coccygectomy in adults has greater risks than in babies, some surgeons prefer not to remove the coccyx of adult survivors of SCT. There are case reports of good outcomes.

For malignant teratomas, usually, surgery is followed by chemotherapy.

Teratomas that are in surgically inaccessible locations, or are very complex, or are likely to be malignant (due to late discovery and/or treatment) sometimes are treated first with chemotherapy.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT), also known as fibrous tumor of the pleura, is a rare mesenchymal tumor originating in the pleura or at virtually any site in the soft tissue including seminal vesicle. Approximately 78% to 88% of SFT's are benign and 12% to 22% are malignant.

An oncocytoma is a tumor made up of oncocytes, epithelial cells characterized by an excessive amount of mitochondria, resulting in an abundant acidophilic, granular cytoplasm. The cells and the tumor that they compose are often benign but sometimes may be premalignant or malignant.

Some benign tumors need no treatment; others may be removed if they cause problems such as seizures, discomfort or cosmetic concerns. Surgery is usually the most effective approach and is used to treat most benign tumors. In some case other treatments may be of use. Adenomas of the rectum may be treated with sclerotherapy, a treatment in which chemicals are used to shrink blood vessels in order to cut off the blood supply. Most benign tumors do not respond to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, although there are exceptions; benign intercranial tumors are sometimes treated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy under certain circumstances. Radiation can also be used to treat hemangiomas in the rectum. Benign skin tumors are usually surgically resected but other treatments such as cryotherapy, curettage, electrodesiccation, laser therapy, dermabrasion, chemical peels and topical medication are used.

Maternal complications of pregnancy may include mirror syndrome. Maternal complications of delivery may include a Cesarean section or, alternatively, a vaginal delivery with mechanical dystocia.

Complications of the mass effect of a teratoma in general are addressed on the teratoma page. Complications of the mass effect of a large SCT may include hip dysplasia, bowel obstruction, urinary obstruction, hydronephrosis and hydrops fetalis. Even a small SCT can produce complications of mass effect, if it is presacral (Altman Type IV). In the fetus, severe hydronephrosis may contribute to inadequate lung development. Also in the fetus and newborn, the anus may be imperforate.

Later complications of the mass effect and/or surgery may include neurogenic bladder, other forms of urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and other chronic problems resulting from accidental damage to or sacrifice of nerves and muscles within the pelvis. Removal of the coccyx may include additional complications. In one review of 25 patients, however, the most frequent complication was an unsatisfactory appearance of the surgical scar.

Pleomorphic adenoma is a common benign salivary gland neoplasm characterised by neoplastic proliferation of parenchymatous glandular cells along with myoepithelial components, having a malignant potentiality. It is the most common type of salivary gland tumor and the most common tumor of the parotid gland. It derives its name from the architectural Pleomorphism (variable appearance) seen by light microscopy. It is also known as "Mixed tumor, salivary gland type", which describes its pleomorphic appearance as opposed to its dual origin from epithelial and myoepithelial elements.

The treatment of choice is complete surgical removal ("i.e.," complete resection). Teratomas are normally well-encapsulated and non-invasive of surrounding tissues, hence they are relatively easy to resect from surrounding tissues. Exceptions include teratomas in the brain, and very large, complex teratomas that have pushed into and become interlaced with adjacent muscles and other structures.

Prevention of recurrence does not require "en bloc" resection of surrounding tissues.

Mucinous cystadenoma is a benign cystic tumor lined by a mucinous epithelium. It is a type of cystic adenoma (cystadenoma).

Mucinous cystadenoma may arise in a number of locations; however, mucinous cystadenoma at different locations are not generally considered to be related to one another.

General treatment regimens have not changed much in the past 30 years, in part due to the lack of randomized clinical trials. Surgery is the treatment of choice if the tumor is determined to be resectable. Curettage is a commonly used technique. The situation is complicated in a patient with a pathological fracture. It may be best to immobilize the affected limb and wait for the fracture to heal before performing surgery.

Patients with tumors that are not amenable to surgery are treated with radiation therapy. However caution is employed since a majority of recurrent tumors with transformations to the malignant sarcoma phenotype have been in patients receiving radiotherapy for their primary benign lesion. Pharmacotherapy for GCTOB, includes bisphosphonates such as Zoledronate, which are thought to induce apoptosis in the MNGC fraction, preventing tumor-induced osteolysis. Indeed, "in vitro" studies have shown zolidronate to be effective in killing osteoclast-like cells. More recently, humanized monoclonal antibodies such as Denosumab targeting the RANK ligand have been employed in treatment of GCTOB in a phase II study. This is based on the notion that increased expression of RANK-ligands by stromal cells plays a role in tumor pathogenesis.

The primary method for treatment is surgical, not medical. Radiation and chemotherapy are not needed for benign lesions and are not effective for malignant lesions.

Benign granular cell tumors have a recurrence rate of 2% to 8% when resection margins are deemed clear of tumor infiltration. When the resection margins of a benign granular cell tumor are positive for tumor infiltration the recurrence rate is increased to 20%. Malignant lesions are aggressive and difficult to eradicate with surgery and have a recurrence rate of 32%.

A Pancoast tumor is a tumor of the pulmonary apex. It is a type of lung cancer defined primarily by its location situated at the top end of either the right or left lung. It typically spreads to nearby tissues such as the ribs and vertebrae. Most Pancoast tumors are non-small cell cancers.

The growing tumor can cause compression of a brachiocephalic vein, subclavian artery, phrenic nerve, recurrent laryngeal nerve, vagus nerve, or, characteristically, compression of a sympathetic ganglion (the superior cervical ganglion), resulting in a range of symptoms known as Horner's syndrome.

Pancoast tumors are named for Henry Pancoast, a US radiologist, who described them in 1924 and 1932.

Pure mediastinal seminomas are curable in the large majority of patients, even when metastatic at the time of diagnosis. These tumors are highly sensitive to radiation therapy and to combination chemotherapy. However, the cardiotoxicity of mediastinal radiation is substantial and the standard treatment of mediastinal seminomas is with chemotherapy using bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin for either three or four 21-day treatment cycles depending on the location of any metastatic disease.

Patients with small tumors (usually asymptomatic) that appear resectable usually undergo thoracotomy and attempted complete resection followed by chemotherapy.

The treatment for mediastinal nonseminomatous germ cell tumors should follow guidelines for poor-prognosis testicular cancer. Initial treatment with four courses of bleomycin, etoposide, and cisplatin, followed by surgical resection of any residual disease, is considered standard therapy.

Treatment usually consists of observation unless the patient has concern, there is pain, drainage, or other symptoms related to the lesion. Surgical removal of the affected gland would be recommended in those cases. Another treatment option would be aspiration, which can be repeated multiple times. This is commonly performed in those who are debilitated or in those whose benefit from surgery would be outweighed by the risks. Prognosis is usually good; rarely this condition may devolve into lymphoma, or could actually represent 'occult' lymphoma from the outset.

Malignant germ cell tumors of the mediastinum are uncommon, representing only 3 to 10% of tumors originating in the mediastinum. They are much less common than germ cell tumors arising in the testes, and account for only 1 to 5% of all germ cell neoplasms.

Syndromes associated with mediastinal germ cell tumors include Hematologic Neoplasia and Klinefelter's syndrome.

The mediastinum is the cavity that separates the lungs from the rest of the chest. It contains the heart, esophagus, trachea, thymus, and aorta. The mediastinum has three main parts: the anterior mediastinum (front), the middle mediastinum, and the posterior mediastinum (back).

The most common mediastinal masses are neurogenic tumors (20% of mediastinal tumors), usually found in the posterior mediastinum, followed by thymoma (15-20%) located in the anterior mediastinum.

Masses in the anterior portion of the mediastinum can include thymoma, lymphoma, pheochromocytoma, germ cell tumors including teratoma, thyroid tissue, and parathyroid lesions. Masses in this area are more likely to be malignant than those in other compartments.

Masses in the posterior portion of the mediastinum tend to be neurogenic in origin, and in adults tend to be of neural sheath origin including neurilemomas and neurofibromas.

Lung cancer typically spreads to the lymph nodes in the mediastinum.

Second most common primary anterior mediastinal mass in adults. Most are seen in the anterior compartment and rest are seen in middle compartment. Hodgkin's usually present in 40-50's with nodular sclerosing type (7), and non-Hodgkin's in all age groups. Can also be primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma with exceptionally good prognosis. Common symptoms include fever, weight loss, night sweats, and compressive symptoms such as pain, dyspnea, wheezing, Superior vena cava syndrome, pleural effusions (10,11). Diagnosis usually by CT showing lobulated mass. Confirmation done by tissue biopsy of accompanying nodes if any, mediastinoscopy, mediastinotomy, or thoracotomy. FNA biopsy is usually not adequate. (12,13,14) Treatment of mediastinal Hodgkin's involves chemotherapy and/or radiation. 5 year survival is now around 75%. (15) Large-cell type may have somewhat better prognosis. Surgery is generally not performed because of invasive nature of tumor.

Of all cancers involving the same class of blood cell, 2% of cases are mediastinal large B cell lymphomas.

A number of tumors have giant cells, but are not true benign giant-cell tumors. These include, aneurysmal bone cyst, chondroblastoma, simple bone cyst, osteoid osteoma, osteoblastoma, osteosarcoma, giant-cell reparative granuloma, and brown tumor of hyperparathyroidism.

There is no standard approach to the treatment of lymphangiomatosis and treatment often is aimed at reducing symptoms. Surgical intervention may be indicated when complications arise and a number of reports of response to surgical interventions, medications, and dietary approaches can be found in the medical literature.

Unfortunately, there is no standardized treatment for lymphangiomatosis and no cure.

Treatment modalities that have been reported in the medical literature, by system, include:

An oncocytoma is an epithelial tumor composed of oncocytes, large eosinophilic cells having small, round, benign-appearing nuclei with large nucleoli.

Oncocytoma can arise in a number of organs.

A pancreatic cyst is a fluid filled sac within the pancreas.

Causes range from benign to malignant. Pancreatic pseudocysts can occur in the setting of pancreatitis, though they are only reliably diagnosed 6 weeks after the episode of acute pancreatitis.

Benign tumors such as serous cystadenomas can occur. Main branch intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) are associated with dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, while side branch IPMNs are typically benign, and not associated with dilatation. MRCP can help distinguish the position of the cysts relative to the pancreatic duct, and direct appropriate treatment and follow-up. The most common malignancy that can present as a pancreatic cyst is a mucinous cystic neoplasm.