Emerging concepts in sinonasal and salivary gland tumour pathology: nothing to sneeze or spit at

Abstract

The past decade has seen a dizzying array of new tumours and concepts in both sinonasal and salivary gland tumour pathology. As is true in most organ systems, the changes have largely been brought on by insights discovered through molecular analysis. In the sinonasal tract, what was once a simple classification scheme with only a handful of entities has evolved into a complex web of novel neoplasms driven by a molecular alteration, many of which are closely related to each other. In the salivary glands, awareness of tumor-defining genetic alterations has led to the expansion of the histologic spectra of known entities (e.g., mucoepidermoid carcinoma or adenoid cystic carcinoma) as well as the discovery of entirely new tumour types (e.g., microsecretory adenocarcinoma and microcribriform adenocarcinoma).