Intraoral minor salivary gland neoplasm: a single institution experience of 80 cases

From March 1991 to February 2001, 80 cases of minor salivary gland tumours were diagnosed in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Maryland at Baltimore (Baltimore, MD, USA). Data extracted from a retrospective chart review included age, sex, symptoms, site, histological diagnosis. treatment and outcome. Pleomorphic adenoma was the most common benign tumour and makes up 89.5% of all benign tumours. The percentage of malignancy (76.3%) was much higher than that found in other studies. Of the malignant tumours, 54.1% were mucoepidermoid carcinomas. This study differs from many previous reviews that were published by pathologists rather than a surgical unit.