The Diagnosis, Classification and Treatment of Tumours of the Salivary Glands

Abstract

Tumours of the salivary glands are not common, and in large series of tumour cases they form only 1 to 2 per cent. of the total. On the other hand, the interest that they have aroused has been out of all proportion to their frequency. Pathologists still dispute their origin and classification, and the tumours seem to defy many of the criteria of innocency and malignancy; the surgeon is constantly disturbed by the uncertain and unpredictable behaviour of the growths; and now the radiotherapeutist is being called more and more to the clinician's assistance. The present paper is a survey of the various types of tumours met with in the salivary glands. No dogmatic classification is possible, and the cases include those in salivary gland tissue proper, in the supporting tissue, in local embryological structures, and certain tumours in the immediate vicinity of the glands. For these reasons some latitude is essential in interpreting the word “tumour”. In my records of 490 cases of surgical diseases of the saliv...