Warthin's tumor: a review indicating no male predominance

There is probably no other head and neck group of tumors as those found in the parotid gland that constitute such a diversity of growths, both benign and malignant. Warthin's or papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum is the second most common benign tumor of the parotid gland. One universally held clinical characteristic of this tumor is its high male ratio. Because of a high frequency of female Warthin's tumor seen at Geisinger Medical Center, a review of all primary parotid gland tumors from 1971 to 1981 was carried out. Sixty-two cases out of 204 primary neoplasms were classified as Warthin's. There was no significant difference in the number of male and female cases with 32 males and 30 females. The clinical characteristics of Warthin's tumor and this unusually high female occurrence are discussed.