Diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in salivary gland tumours

Salivary glands are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms and are diagnostically challenging with overlapping microscopic features between tumours as well as intra-tumour morphological diversity. Correct diagnosis is essential to ensure appropriate management and follow-up. Morphological and cytological analysis of haematoxylin and eosin stained tissue sections is supplemented by a large number of immunohistochemical and special stains as well as molecular rearrangements. A broad literature search was performed to provide an overview of all biomarkers used for diagnosis and prognosis prediction of salivary gland tumours. The wide range of biomarkers reported in the literature can be overwhelming but used in the correct context can aid diagnosis and predict the behaviour of these challenging tumours. They can also help identify recently described new entities.