Histopathologic Patterns of Salivary Gland Lesions and Associated Factors in Jimma University Medical Center, Jimma, South Western Ethiopia: A 5-Year Retrospective Study, from September 2016 to August 2020

Abstract

Background: Salivary gland lesions (SGLs) account for <1% of all tumors and about 4% of all epithelial neoplasms in head and neck region. These comprise a wide variety of benign and malignant neoplasms, and non-neoplastic lesions which exhibit a difference in biological behaviors. Reports from various parts of the world indicate that there are differences in the total incidence of salivary gland tumors as well as in the frequency of particular histologic types and in their distribution. Methods and Materials: A retrospective cross-sectional study design was applied for patients sent to JUMC pathology department with SGLs for histopathologic diagnosis from September 2016 to August 2020. Important data were gathered using structured checklist and entered into Epi data v.3.1. After checking and clearing, the data were exported to SPSS V.23 for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, proportions, mean and median as well as logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: From a total of 176 SGLs 135(76.7%) were neoplastic and the remaining 41(23.3%) were non-neoplastic lesions. Being in the age group of 21-40[AOR=5.172, 95% CI (1.696-15.776)], 41-60[AOR=4.534, 95% CI (1.087-18.907)], and having the lesions for duration >24 months [AOR=12.479, 95% CI (3.433-45.356)] and the size of the mass >5 cm [AOR=19.486, 95% CI (3.371-112.639)] were associated increased odds of neoplastic lesions, while the site of the lesions being in major groups of salivary glands [AOR=0.056, 95% CI (0.014-0.224)] was associated with decreased likelihood of neoplastic SGLs. Conclusion: In this study we conclude that the prevalence of neoplastic salivary lesions were three times more common than non-neoplastic ones and malignancies were slightly more common than benign lesions. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma was the commonest malignant while PA was the commonest benign SGLs both in females and males. The neoplastic SGLs were highly associated with increasing age beyond young adults, duration longer than 6 months, size larger than 5 cm and minor groups of salivary glands.