Epidemiology of Salivary Gland Lesions in Referring Patients to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences Hospitals 1998-2003

Introduction: Salivary gland lesions, as a diverse group, can be classified as infectious, inflammatory and neoplastic. These lesions have been considered rare and few multitude epidemiologic studies in Iranian populations are noticeable.Methods and Materials: 574 (314 men and 260 women) cases diagnosed as salivary gland lesions were studied. The sample comprised of 198 benign lesions, 113 malignant and 263 non­neoplastic ones. The lesions were further classified with regard of age, sex, site and histopathology.Results: Patients' files, 314 men and 260 women, were assessed. The diagnosis included 46% to be non-neoplastic, 34% to be benign and 20% to be malignant. The most common benign lesion was pleomorphic adenoma (68.1% of benign tumors and 23.5% of all lesions). Benign tumors were more frequent, in the age group of 31-50 years. Mucco-epidermoid carcinoma was the most common malignant tumor (40% of malignant tumors, and 7.8% of all lesions); most of the malignant lesions were seen to occur by the age of more than 50. Forty-six percent of all lesions were non-neoplastic which comprised of both genders (56.3% men, 43.7% women). Chronic sialadenitis was the most frequent lesion years.Conclusion: Present study showed that pattern of salivary gland lesions epidemiology is different to series studies from all over the world, even though it was similar to the others partly. Such a difference points out the role of geographic and racial factors. Key words: Salivary glands, Epidemiology, Neoplastic lesions, Non-neoplatic lesions,inflammatory lesion