Topic > Spectrum of salivary gland disorders in a tertiary hospital: a four-year experience

Salivary gland tumors are a heterogeneous group of tumors of the head and neck region. The major salivary glands are parotid, submandibular, and sublingual, while the minor salivary glands are found throughout the submucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract with the greatest quantity in the palate. Both benign and malignant can develop in all salivary glands. Although salivary gland tumors represent less than 1% of all tumors, however, the prevalence of these reported in the literature is different. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Salivary gland tumors make up 2% to 4% of all head and neck cancers. The prevalence of salivary gland tumors is estimated to be between 0.4 and 14 cases per year per 100,000 inhabitants worldwide. While the prevalence of malignant salivary glands varies from 0.4 to 2.6 per 100,000 inhabitants per anum. Among all salivary gland disorders, the most common benign and malignant tumors are pleomorphic adenoma and mucoepidermoid carcinoma, respectively. Approximately 80% involve the parotid glands, while 10% to 20% occur in the submandibular and sublingual glands. Approximately 80% of benign tumors of the parotid glands are pleomorphic adenomas.1 The cause of these tumors is still unknown; Ionizing radiation, vitamin A deficiency, tobacco, prolonged exposure to sunlight, and chemotherapy may likely contribute to the development of these disorders. A long-standing nodule is the presenting feature of benign salivary gland tumors, while malignant tumors may present with a rapidly growing nodule, pain, facial nerve palsy, trismus, fistula formation, skin involvement, cervical lymphadenopathy, and leakage. of weight. Malignant tumors of the parotid gland may invade the facial nerve in approximately one-third of cases, while malignant tumors of the submandibular and sublingual glands may involve the hypoglossal nerve, followed by the trigeminal and facial nerves. Embryologically, the salivary glands develop as a result of the initial thickening of the stomodeal epithelium, while the submandibular and sublingual glands develop from the endodermal germ layers3, while the parotid gland develops from the oral ectoderm. This is on the one hand a diagnostic dilemma for the histopathologist and on the other a challenging task for his classification, due to the complexity and rarity of these disorders. In 1972, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the first classification of salivary gland tumors, which has been modified numerous times over the past four decades. Diagnosis of salivary gland disorders can be achieved with clinical features integrated with fine-needle aspiration cytology, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography confirmed by a histopathological study of the specimen. However, sometimes, fine-needle aspiration cytology alone cannot distinguish between benign and malignant tumors. Benign tumors of the salivary glands of the parotid glands are treated by superficial parotidectomy, while benign tumors of the submandibular glands are totally excised, followed by observation for any recurrence. Treatment of malignant salivary gland tumors involves total excision of the primary tumor along with removal of surrounding involved tissues, as well as neck dissection followed by chemoradiotherapy. The incidence of complications, especially facial nerve damage, is common in malignant tumors dueof the close relationship of the nerve with the gland. As salivary gland tumors are common in our Pakistani society and sizable cases often present at our surgical clinics, they are admitted and treated appropriately. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the demographic, clinical, and histopathological characteristics of salivary gland disorders. This 4-year cross-sectional study (January 2013 to October 2017) was conducted at the Department of Surgical Unit 2, Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Sir Ganga Ram HospitalLahore. After obtaining approval from the hospital ethics committee, all patients with salivary gland disorders were included. A well-informed written consent was collected from each patient, explaining the risks, benefits, a complication associated with the surgery, the prognosis of the disease, and the publication of photographs, if necessary. All patients were assessed in terms of detailed medical history, through local, oral cavity and systemic examinations complemented by relevant investigations, in particular fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of swelling, ultrasound and, in some suspected cases, CT scans of the head and of the neck with IV contrast were also done. Each swelling was evaluated for size, duration, transillumination, fluctuation, consistency, bimanual palpation, lymphadenopathy, skin, and neurological involvement. After obtaining a diagnosis of the lesion based on clinical examination, radiological investigation and FNAC, the surgical procedure was performed accordingly. The samples were examined by a histopathologist to confirm the disease. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. 58 patients with a mean ± SD age of 34 ± 1.4 years (age range 15–80 years) were included in this study. There were 23 males (39.7%) and 35 females (60.3%) with a male:female ratio of 1:1.52. Most patients presented in the 2nd and 3rd decades (60.3%, 35). And among these 35 patients in this age group, pleomorphic adenoma was the most common histopathological finding (58.0%, 29), followed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma (50%, 2). (Table 01). Regarding the clinical characteristics of salivary gland disorders, swelling was the most common manifestation (100%) with a mean duration of 2±2.2 years. Most swellings (87.9%, 51) were firm on palpation, and slow growth of swellings was observed in most patients (72.41%, 42). Other features found were pain, facial nerve palsy, fixity, skin involvement, transillumination and cervical lymphadenopathy, respectively in 17.2%, 1.7%, 3.4%, 3.4%, 3.4%, 3, 4% (Table 02). Overall, there were 54 benign salivary gland disorders (93.1%) and 4 (6.9%) malignant ones. Among all benign disorders, 50 cases (86.2%) were benign tumors, while 2 (3.7%) were inflammatory, and two cases turned out to be benign cysts. Overall, benign tumors were noted in the parotid glands followed by the submandibular glands. No tumors were found in the sublingual glands. Among the benign, pleomorphic adenoma was the most common histopathological finding (95.55%) in the parotid glands followed by the submandibular glands (63.33%). The overall incidence of neoplasms was common in submandibular glands (18.18%) 2, followed by parotid glands (4.5%) 2. Among malignant tumors, mucoepidermoid carcinoma was the most common histopathological finding (6.9% ) 4. (Table 3). A 4-year prospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Department of Surgery, Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore. The study was conducted on 58 patients suffering from salivary gland disorders who presented to us.