Epidemiological and histopathological patterns of salivary gland tumors in Cameroon

Abstract

IntroductionTumors of salivary glands are rare. According to Johns and Goldsmith in 1989, their annual incidence is less than 1/100000 without noteworthy geographical gap. But other authors suggest that their distribution may vary according to the race and geographical location. In Cameroon, existing studies give incomplete data. Hence, we underwent this study in order to draw the general profile of salivary gland tumors in Cameroon.MethodsA retrospective study was carried out on the period spanning from January 2000 to December 2010 (11 years). It was done in nine Pathology services of different hospitals in Yaoundé, Douala and Bamenda. We consulted the archive registers of those services, retaining any patient with salivary gland tumor, whatever the histological type or location. Information gathered was the year of diagnosis, the service, the age and sex, the site of the tumor (gland) the histological type and the benign/ malignant character.ResultsWe recruited a total of 275 files. Women were 56% (154/275) and men 44% (121/275) of the sample. Fifty eight tumors were malignant (21.9%) while 217 were benign (78.1%). The overall mean age was 37.44 years, with extremes between 1 and 84 years. Pleomorphic adenoma (60.36%) was the most common benign tumor. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (31%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (22.4%) and adenocarcinoma (19%) were the most common malignant tumors. Palate (66.7%), cheek (30%) and lips (3.3%) were the sites were the minor salivary glands were mostly involved.ConclusionThe differences with western world authors suggest a geographical variability of salivary gland tumors.

Descriptive epidemiology of salivary gland neoplasms in Nigeria: An AOPRC multicenter tertiary hospital study

“…These variations in benign and malignant SGN incidence may reflect regional differences and highlight the need for multicenter collaborations to get a truly representative disease burden. As reported by several studies (Bobati, Patil, & Dombale, ; Otoh et al, ; Sando, Fokouo, Mebada, Djomou, & A ND and Oyono JL, ; Shishegar et al, ), pleomorphic adenoma was the most common salivary gland tumor overall and the most common benign tumor, similar to the findings from our study. In a study in north central Nigeria (Fomete et al, ), in general, ADCC was reported as the most common salivary gland tumor; albeit second overall in our study.…”

“…In a study in north central Nigeria (Fomete et al, ), in general, ADCC was reported as the most common salivary gland tumor; albeit second overall in our study. Sando et al () in Cameroon, Bobati et al () in India and Lima et al () in Brazil found ADCC as the most common malignant salivary gland tumor in their case series. Among the malignant tumors, however, some authors (including Nigerians) have reported mucoepidermoid carcinoma, as the most frequent tumor (Pinkston & Cole, ; Sun, Curtis, Melbye, & Goedert, ).…”

Histomorphological spectrum of salivary gland tumors: a study at tertiary care teaching hospital of North Gujarat

“…Salivary gland tumors (SGTs) are least common tumors with their annual incidence is <1/100,000 inhabitants, without noticeable geographical gap, and they represent <5% of head and neck tumors [7]. In India, overall incidence of SGTs can be ascertained from the cancer registry established by Indian Council of Medical Research [8].…”

Salivary gland cancer — epidemiology

“…In the 1950s in the US population the most dominant was lymphoepithelial cancer, which accounted for as much as 25% of cases [5]. In most regions, there are two dominant histopathological types: among malignancies it is mucoepidermoid cancer and epitheliomaadenoidescysticum while pleomorphic adenoma and Warthin's tumor account for most cases of benign cancers [16][17][18][19].…”