Benign and malignant salivary gland tumors-clinical and demographic characteristics

Aim: To examine the demographic, ethnic, and clinical characteristics of salivary benign and malignant tumors for better etiological understanding. Patients and Methods: We examined medical records of 287 primary salivary gland tumor patients. Results: Overall, 216 tumors were benign and 71 malignant. The mean age at diagnosis was 56.4 years for those with malignant tumors and 48.5 years for those with benign, a highly significant difference (p=0.001). Females had 45% of malignant tumors and 59% of benign, a significant difference (p=0.037). Ethnic origin, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking rates were not significantly different (p>0.05) between groups. A total of 87% of benign and 55% of malignant tumors were in the parotid glands, a highly significant predilection (p<0.0001), sublocated mostly in the superfacial lobe; 36.6% of malignant tumors and 4.7% of benign (p<0.0001) were in the minor salivary glands, mostly in the hard palate. Conclusion: Baseline clinical, demographic and locational aspects of benign and malignant tumors are substantiated.