Doctors at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam were reviewing PSMA PET-CT scans, a type of imaging built to find prostate cancer, when they kept noticing a glowing structure near the back of the nose that did not match any known gland.
Valstar's team examined scans from 100 patients and confirmed the finding with cadaver dissection, identifying a roughly four-centimeter gland behind the nasal cavity on each side, which they named the tubarial glands. Reviewing radiation records from 723 head and neck cancer patients, they found higher doses to the region linked to worse dry mouth and swallowing problems.
The glands sit in a spot rarely examined by surgery or routine imaging, though some anatomists have argued the tissue is a known cluster of minor salivary glands rather than a new organ. The Amsterdam team argues radiotherapy planning should try to spare the region when possible.
Read the original study
Valstar et al., Radiotherapy and Oncology, 2020 · doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2020.09.034
A four-centimeter gland, possibly overlooked for a century.
Source
- Valstar, M. H., de Bakker, B. S., Steenbakkers, R. J. H. M., de Jong, K. H., Smit, L. A., Klein Nulent, T. J. W., van Es, R. J. J., Hofland, I., de Keizer, B., Jasperse, B., Balm, A. J. M., van der Schaaf, A., Langendijk, J. A., Smeele, L. E., & Vogel, W. V. (2021). The tubarial salivary glands: A potential new organ at risk for radiotherapy. Radiotherapy and Oncology, 154, 292–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2020.09.034