Abstract
The capsel-thickness of pleomorphic adenomas was detemined using a image analyzer and then statistically examined.Sixty-one benign pleomorphic adenomas of the parotid gland were employed in this study. The tumors were microscopically classified into three types depending on their cellularity: myxoid type (15 cases, cellularity: <25 %), typical type (24, 25-75%) and cellular type (22, >75%). Average of the capsel-thickness is 205.9±161.4μ (min. 17.4-max. 820μ). The capsel thicness was closely related with the cellularity of the tumors; Myxoid type tumors have thinner capsule (83.7±86.3μ) than the other type tumors (typical type: 199.5±108.8μ, cellular type: 291.4±202.8μ). Additionally, the degree of infiltrating lymphocytes around the tumor capsule was related with the thickness of the capsule which indicate host defense may play an important role with the formation of the capsel. From the above results, we reconfirmed that resection of the pleomorphic adenoma with adequate safety margin is necessary to prevent the recurrence of the tumor, especially in the hypocellular type adenoma.
