Intraoral salivary gland tumors: a retrospective study of 201 cases

Two hundred and one cases of intraoral salivary gland tumors were studied from the files of the School of Pathology, University of the Witwaterstrand and South African Institute for Medical Research. 145 cases (72.5%) were classified as benign, comprising 140 pleomorphic adenomas and 5 monomorphic adenomas. The other 56 cases were classified as malignant or potentially malignant tumors, represented by 21 adenoid cystic carcinomas, 15 adenocarcinomas, 13 mucoepidermoid tumors, 5 carcinoma in pleomorphic adenomas and 2 epidermoid carcinomas. The patients in the malignant/potentially malignant group were significantly older than those in the benign group and a smaller proportion of their tumors were palatal, the difference being statistically significant. The high frequency of pleomorphic adenoma might result from a relatively higher number of black than white patients in this sample.