Histopathological analysis of salivary gland biopsies in Kumasi: An 8 year retrospective study

Abstract

The salivary gland shows wide spectrum of findings on histological examination when they are removed at surgery. The findings range from normal to malignant. The major salivary glands include parotid, submaxillary and sublingual while the others found in many other locations in the head and neck region constitute the minor salivary glands. All cases of salivary gland tissues received at our department of Pathology between the year 2009 and 2016 were selected for this study. Data regarding histological diagnosis, age, sex and location were abstracted. The slides for the cases were retrieved from our archive and the histological diagnoses were revaluated. In cases where the slides were not found, the blocks were retrieved and new sections were cut for histological appraisal. The data obtained were uploaded into excel sheet and descriptive analysis was carried out using SPSS version 23. Results obtained were presented in tables and charts. 371 cases of salivary gland specimens were received during the 8 year period with M:F ratio of 1:1.22 average 46 cases per year. Most of the cases were from the major salivary glands with the most common site being parotid gland (52%). The histology showed benign 167 cases (45%), primary malignant 103 cases (27.8%), inflammatory and tumour-like 86 cases (23.2%) while 4 cases (1.1%) were metastatic and 11 cases (2.9%) were normal. In the present study, most of our salivary gland biopsies were salivary gland tumours of which benign tumours are much more common than the malignant ones. Pleomorphic adenoma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas were the most common histologic types for the benign and malignant neoplasms respectively