Histopathological analysis of salivary gland tumors at Pathology Department of King Edward Medical University Lahore

Abstract

Salivary gland tumors are distributed in the head and neck area. The purpose of the study was to see the distribution of these tumors. The tumors were studied against the demographic variables like age and sex. Patients and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at department of pathology of King Edward Medical University from 01 January 2010 to 31 December 2017. Three hundred and nineteen cases were included. Their diagnosis and demographic details like site, age and sex were recorded in a proforma. Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used for descriptive analysis and the results were tabulated. Results: Total 319 cases of salivary gland tumors (SGT) were enrolled in the study. Female to male ratio was 1.3:1. Minimum and maximum age of the patients were 5 and 80 years. Mean age was 37.45±15.7 years. Malignant tumors were seen in relatively older age group as compared to benign tumors. Majority cases were benign 214 (67.1%) while malignant cases were 105 (32.9%). The commonest benign tumor was pleomorphic adenoma 203 (63.6%) and the commonest malignant tumor was mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) 43 (13.5%) followed by adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC) 42 (13.2%). Most of the tumours 146 (45.8%) were located in parotid area followed by submandibular gland 45 (13.8%) and hard palate area 37cases (11.6%). Overall, 194 (60.8%) cases were found in major salivary glands and 125 (39.2%) were distributed in minor salivary glands. Benign versus malignant tumors in major SG were 150 and 44 (3.4:1) as compared to 64 versus 61 (1.04:1) in minor salivary glands. Conclusion: Pleomorphic adenoma was the commonest benign salivary gland tumor whereas mucoepidermoid carcinoma remained the commonest malignant tumor followed by adenoid cystic carcinoma. Parotid and minor salivary glands were predominant locations for benign and malignant tumors respectively.