PURPOSE: This is a retrospective study of the location, diagnosis, sex and age distribution and treatment of minor salivary glands tumours of the upper aero digestive tract in Lagos, Nigeria. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Case files and radiographs of patients treated over a 24-year period were reviewed. RESULTS: These tumours constituted 40.4% of all salivary gland tumours in the series. The majority (62.3%) of these tumours was malignant, and the most common malignant tumour was mucoepidermoid carcinoma (19.2%). However, pleomorphic adenoma (34.2%) was the most common tumour overall. Both benign (67.2%) and malignant (23.9%) tumors were most frequently located in the palate. Both sexes were equally affected (Male-female ratio 1 to 1), but a higher proportion of benign tumours were found in the palate of females (75%) than their male counterparts (64%). Patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma were significantly older at presentation than those with pleomorphic adenoma and adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings show that majority of these tumours were malignant (62.3%), though pleomorphic adenoma was the most common tumour. They also confirm the high predilection of pleomorphic adenoma (61.8%) for the palate of Black Africans.
PURPOSE: This is a retrospective study of the location, diagnosis, sex and age distribution and treatment of minor salivary glands tumours of the upper aero digestive tract in Lagos, Nigeria. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Case files and radiographs of patients treated over a 24-year period were reviewed. RESULTS: These tumours constituted 40.4% of all salivary gland tumours in the series. The majority (62.3%) of these tumours was malignant, and the most common malignant tumour was mucoepidermoid carcinoma (19.2%). However, pleomorphic adenoma (34.2%) was the most common tumour overall. Both benign (67.2%) and malignant (23.9%) tumors were most frequently located in the palate. Both sexes were equally affected (Male-female ratio 1 to 1), but a higher proportion of benign tumours were found in the palate of females (75%) than their male counterparts (64%). Patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma were significantly older at presentation than those with pleomorphic adenoma and adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings show that majority of these tumours were malignant (62.3%), though pleomorphic adenoma was the most common tumour. They also confirm the high predilection of pleomorphic adenoma (61.8%) for the palate of Black Africans.