Salivary gland lesions: A Jamaican perspective

A retrospective analysis of the spectrum and relative frequency of salivary gland lesions diagnosed in the Department of Pathology,, University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, between 1965 and 1994, is reported. Four h undred and sixty-four salivary gland biopsies were received. Of these 99 (2 1.3%) were nonneoplastic and the remaining 365 (78.7%) were neoplasms.- 261 (71.5%) were benign and 104 (28.5%) malignant. Benign mixed tumour (BMT)/p leomorphic adenoma (PA) was the most common neoplasm (63.3%) while mucoepid ermoid carcinoma (MEQ was the most common malignant neoplasm (9.6%), follow ed by adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) (7.4%). The increased frequency of MEC over ACC is at variance with other reported series but the preponderance o f pleomorphic adenoma is consistent. In the major salivary, glands, benign neoplasms predominate at a ratio of 3:1, while a higher proportion of minor salivary gland neoplasms was malignant, ratio 1.2:1 (p= 0.003). These data represent the first attempt to document the spectrum of disease related to oral and maxillofacial pathology in Jamaica.