Minor salivary glands tumors, a retrospective study of 28 cases in an Iranian population

Background and aim:Minor salivary gland tumors (MSGTs) are infrequent, representing 9-23% of all salivaryneoplasms. Study about the frequency of these tumors in the various parts of the world can beuseful for a better understanding of characteristics of these tumors .The aim of this study is todetermine the frequency of minor salivary glands tumors in patients referred to pathologydepartment of Imam Reza hospital, Tabriz, Iran as an Iranian population.Materials & Methods:In this descriptive retrospective study, 28 cases of minor salivary gland tumors from archiveof the pathology department of Imam Reza hospital at Tabriz (Iran) during 10 years periodwere extracted. The data including age, gender, location and type of tumors were obtainedfrom medical records. Descriptive Statistics were carried out by using SPSS 15 software.Results:Of 167 tumors of salivary glands origin, 28 cases were minor salivary glands tumors. Theaverage age of patients was 56 and 46 for males and females retrospectively. The Mann-Whitney U test revealed the significant differences between age and gender (p=0.038). Maleswere more affected than females and the male to female ratio was 2.1/1. 75% of tumors werebenign while 25%were malignant. The most common diagnosed tumors were pleomorphicadenoma (67.9%), followed by Adenoid cystic carcinoma (21.4%). 50% of tumors affectedthe palate followed by the upper lip and tongue (17.9%). The most common sites of benignand malignant tumors were palate and upper lip respectively. Chi – square analysis showedstatistical significant differences between location and type of tumor (benign ormalignant)(p<0.05).Conclusion:There are some differences in the frequency of minor salivary glands tumors included age,gender, type of these tumors in different communities that can reflect geographical and racialfactors in the prevalence of these lesions.