ReviewJournal of gastrointestinal oncology2026
Hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis to salivary glands: a systematic review of diagnostic challenges and survival outcomes.
Review in Journal of gastrointestinal oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasizes predominantly to the lungs, lymph nodes, and bone; salivary gland involvement is exceedingly rare and poorly characterized. We conducted a systematic review to define the clinical profile, diagnostic challenges, and outcomes of this unusual metastatic pattern. Methods: Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines with prospective protocol registration (PROSPERO CRD42024559907), we searched six databases from inception through November 2024 for pathologically confirmed HCC salivary gland metastasis. Two reviewers independently screened records, extracted patient-level data, and appraised study quality. Outcomes were summarized using descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results: From 148 records, eight published cases met inclusion criteria; combined with one institutional case, the final cohort comprised nine patients [1998-2024]. All were male (median age 64 years; range, 36-82 years). Alcohol use disorder (55.6%) and diabetes mellitus (33.3%) were the most common comorbidities. The parotid gland was affected in 88.9% of cases. Two-thirds of cases presented synchronously with primary HCC; among three metachronous cases, the median interval to salivary metastasis was 2.5 years, including one case arising after liver transplantation. Initial fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was diagnostic in only 2 of 8 attempted cases (25%); 4 of 8 ultimately required surgical biopsy. Among seven patients with survival data, median overall survival was 6 months (range, 2-24 months). Patients undergoing surgical resection had numerically longer median survival (12 Conclusions: HCC salivary gland metastasis has been observed exclusively in males across all reported cases, with strong parotid predilection and poor prognosis. FNAB has a low diagnostic yield, and early surgical biopsy should be considered when clinical suspicion is high. Delayed metastases, including post-transplantation, underscore the need for extended surveillance and sustained clinical vigilance in HCC follow-up.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.