Abstract
It is reported in the European and American literature that salivary duct cysts constitute about 10 % of all cysts of the salivary glands, although they appear to be rare in Japan. Between 1975 and 1999, only 3 (0.5 %) of 586 salivary gland cysts were diagnosed as salivary duct cysts at the Division of Clinical Pathology, Iwate Medical University Hospital. Histologically, two cases appeared as a unilocular lesion lined by double- and multi-layered epithelium. The other case showed marked, intraluminar and intramural adenomatous proliferation of the epithelial lining, suggesting that the lesion was a benign tumor. A review of the literature yielded only two cases of tumors arising in pre-existing salivary duct cysts. (J. Oral Sci. 43, 9-13, 2001)
