Tumors of the major salivary glands

HERE ARE FEW RECORDED STUDIES of major Ts a 1 ivary-gland tumors based on signifi( antly large numbers of cases. The tumors geneially are uncommon and certain of the many types extremely rare. Hence, in few institutions will there be sufficient material for full evaluation of even the more commonly recognized varieties. Tumors of the salivary glands have few rivals in histological diversification. In the present study the pathological material and clinical records of nearly nine hundred cases were carefully reviewed. These were accumulated during a twenty-year period ending in 1949. Chief emphasis was placed upon histological classification and analysis of the natural history of the separate tumor types under conditions of clinical managelllent in which surgical treatment was highly accented. Detailed discussion of the technical methods of treatment has not been attempted. In Table 1 is a listing of the separate histological varieties and their distribution within the three major salivary glands. Each of these types will be individually discussed with the exception of the sebaceous-c ell adenoina and unclassified tumors. There was a single example of a possible sebaceous-cell adenoma. This tumor (Figs. 178, 179) wa4 a centimeter in diameter, encapsulated, and made up of sebaceous-like cells of a sort occasionally E ~ ~ i i i d n salivary glands. T h e entire tumor was embedded so that staining €or fat was not possible. Hence, the listing of a single example of this tumor type is more an anticipation, than a proof, of its actual existence. The unclassified tumors were almost entirely f i om cases