Intrasellar symptomatic salivary gland: case series and literature review

Ectopic salivary glands have been found in both extracranial and intracranial locations, however, intrasellar symptomatic salivary gland is extremely rare and its clinical manifestation, radiological characteristics and outcome have not been systematically studied. Here we present a case series of intrasellar symptomatic salivary gland and perform a literature review to better characterize this disease.

We retrospectively reviewed the data of three patients with intrasellar symptomatic salivary gland from our institutional and other cases available in literatures. Information for sex, age at diagnosis, clinical symptoms, radiological features, treatment strategy and prognosis were recorded.

A total of 11 cases (including our own) were identified. There were three men and eight women, with an average age at diagnosis of 28.3 years. The peak incidence was in the second and the third decade (72.7% of all cases). The most common symptom was headache (81.8% of all patients). About 63.6% patients had one or more abnormal hormone levels, and prolactin was likely the most vulnerable hormone. The radiological appearances of intrasellar salivary gland were various, and four cases mimicked pituitary adenoma radiologically. All patients underwent transsphenoidal surgery with no mortality.

Although intrasellar symptomatic salivary gland is rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intrasellar lesions. Preoperative diagnosis is challenging since it mimics pituitary neoplasm in clinical and radiological manifestations, and confirmation for this disease could only be conducted through pathological examination. Transsphenoidal surgical resection is the preferred therapy and the patient prognosis is usually good.