Incisional Biopsy and the Parotid Gland Tumors.

Abstract

Incisional biopsy for treatment of salivary gland neoplasm is absolutely contraindicated.We report here our experiences with 12 patients who had undergone prior incisional biopsy for parotid gland tumor. Seven of the twelve patients were diagnosed with malignant tumors, and five with benign pleomorphic adenomas.Among the malignancy cases, there were three patients with sequelae: local skin hyperemia, leakage of saliva, and incomplete local facial paresis. However, it was impossible to determine if these sequelae resulted from direct invasion of the malignant tumor or from the Incisional biopsy.In spite of the small size of the primary lesions, metastasis to the small neck lymph node were recognized.Furthermore, we recognized a high ratio of local recurrence in the malignant tumors that had been incised (3/12 cases) in comparison to that of malignant tumors with no prior incisional biopsy (1/14 cases). Even in benign tumors, incisional biopsy can cause tumor dissemination because of the presence of multiple daughter tumor cell nests, especially in pleomorphic adenomas.Radical treatment for parotid gland neoplasm involves complete surgical resection.For effective local control, incisional biopsy should be avoided.