Abstract
The proportion of neoplasms of the salivary gland in the study population accounted for 10% of all head & neck and 3% of all neoplasms in the body. There is a scarcity of information regarding salivary gland tumours in Tanzania; therefore, this study addresses important issues in prevalence, histological, demographic characteristics, co-morbidities and treatment of salivary gland tumours. This study aimed to determine the pattern of salivary gland tumours among patients attending Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial services at a tertiary hospital. This was a cross-sectional study done on patients diagnosed with salivary gland tumours. A total of 276 patients were recruited. Pre-tested coded questionnaires were used to collect data which were later analysed using SPSS statistical computer software version 20.0. Of the studied 276 participants, 156 (56.5%) were males, and 120 (43.5%) were females. Their age group ranged between 0 to 90 years with a mean age of 49.47 years, SD ±15.7. Most of them, 69 (28.6 %) aged above 60 years, and 31 (26.1 %) were in the age group of 40-49 and 60+ years. Mostly affected were males, 64 (55.1%) and 52 (44.8%) were females, P=0.76. The most commonly affected site was the parotid gland (75%), and the least affected sites were submandibular and sublingual (7.5%). Among 116 patients, malignant and benign types accounted for 76 (66%) and 40 (34%), respectively. Both benign and malignant salivary gland tumours (SGT) had male preponderance. Pleomorphic adenoma was high in males (28.1%) compared to females (25.0%); mucoepidermoid carcinoma was commonly found, accounting for 23.4% in males and 28.9% in females. More males were commonly affected, particularly the 40-49 age group, although the differences were statistically insignificant (p-value= 0.07). In conclusion, the majority of salivary gland tumours were malignant type and mucoepidermoid carcinoma being the most common histological type, while pleomorphic adenoma was the most frequently encountered benign type, and both had male preponderance, mostly seen at the age of 40 years and above. The majority of patients with malignant tumours presented late to the hospital; therefore, there is a need for advocacy for early health-seeking behaviour to the community and early detection of the disease by health personnel in the primary health centres.
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