ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the clinicopathological data of 1,403 patients treated for benign and malignant salivary gland neoplasms between 1947 and 1992 in a single centre. The authors added to a previous study that was published in 1979. Epidemiological and pathological data were reviewed for patients that were treated for both benign and malignant salivary gland tumours (SGTs). Surgery was the primary treatment in most of the neoplasms studied. All benign tumours, apart from pleomorphic adenomas, were treated with surgery; however, more extended resection in the form of partial maxillectomy was selected in four cases with benign lesions of the minor salivary glands. There is a lack of prospective randomised trials in this context and overall salivary gland cancers are uncommon and histologically diverse, which has implications on treatment modalities and outcomes. The management of benign major SGTs has changed with the advent of extracapsular dissection.
