The incidence of neoplastic versus inflammatory disease in major salivary gland masses diagnosed by surgery.

What is the incidence of non-neoplastic diseases when dealing with masses of the major salivary glands? A knowledge of this information would aid the physician in making decisions relative to the management of the masses. Furthermore, the expected malignancy rate may need to be adjusted according to the findings of this study. Many reported series of salivary gland neoplasms show the relative incidence of benign vs. malignant neoplasms; however, not every patient with a mass of the salivary gland who comes to surgery is finally diagnosed as having had a neoplasm. Knowing the relative incidence of neoplastic vs. non-neoplastic salivary gland diseases has important diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic implications. Records of all patients who underwent either a parotidectomy or submandibular gland excision from 1975 to the present at the Eye and Ear Hospital of Pittsburgh were reviewed; 73% of the parotidectomies performed were done for neoplastic disease. A patient with a parotid mass has a likelihood of 1:10 of having a malignancy. Similarly, on a population basis, 1 submandibular mass in 12 will be malignant.