摘要Objective To investigate the biological behavior and proper management of myoepithelial carcinomas of salivary glands. Methods Twenty-seven cases of myoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands were retrospec tively studied and their detailed clinical and follow-up data were presented. Results The subjects consisted of 17 men and 10 women aged 16 to 73 years (mean age: 51 years). The parotid gland was the most common site (n=14) of cancer. Clinical features included extensive local growth, invasion of the surrounding tissues, infrequent cervical lymph node metastasis but high rates of distant metastasis, f requent/multiple recurrences and poor prognosis. Conclusions Myoepithelial carcinomas of the salivary gland should be classified as high-grade malignancies. Early and radical surgery with close follow-up are essential for achieving favorable outcomes. Radiotherapy appears to be non-sensitive and elective neck dissection is generally unnecessary.