Minor salivary gland tumours in a Nigerian hospital: a retrospective review of 146 cases
Gbotolorun, O.M.; Arotiba, G.T.; Effiom, O.A.; Omitola, O.G.
Odonto-Stomatologie Tropicale 31(123): 17-23
2008
ISSN/ISBN: 0251-172X PMID: 19266846 Document Number: 620157
This is a retrospective study of the location, diagnosis, sex and age distribution and treatment of minor salivary glands tumours of the upper aero digestive tract in Lagos, Nigeria. Case files and radiographs of patients treated over a 24-year period were reviewed. These tumours constituted 40.4% of all salivary gland tumours in the series. The majority (62.3%) of these tumours was malignant, and the most common malignant tumour was mucoepidermoid carcinoma (19.2%). However, pleomorphic adenoma (34.2%) was the most common tumour overall. Both benign (67.2%) and malignant (23.9%) tumors were most frequently located in the palate. Both sexes were equally affected (Male-female ratio 1 to 1), but a higher proportion of benign tumours were found in the palate of females (75%) than their male counterparts (64%). Patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma were significantly older at presentation than those with pleomorphic adenoma and adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05). These findings show that majority of these tumours were malignant (62.3%), though pleomorphic adenoma was the most common tumour. They also confirm the high predilection of pleomorphic adenoma (61.8%) for the palate of Black Africans.