One hundred and four patients with pleomorphic adenoma diagnosed at the Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital during 15 years from January 1988 to December 2002, were reviewed.
The results were as follows: 1. Of the 104 patients with pleomorphic adenoma, 34 were males and 70 were females, and the male to female ratio was 1:2. Regarding age, most of the patients were in their sixties, followed by those in their fifties, and those in their forties.
2. As for the site distribution, the palate and the parotid gland were predominantly affected. The chief complaint of the patients was almost indolent enlargement.
3. The patients with pleomorphic adenoma in minor salivary glands visited our hospital earlier than those with pleomorphic adenoma in major salivary glands since the former patients noticed their lesions earlier in the oral cavity. The sizes of tumors in minor salivary glands tended to be smaller than those in major salivary glands at the time of the first visit.
4. We found capsular disorders (incomplete capsule or tumor cells invasion into capsule) of the lesions in major salivary glands (81.4%) more than those in minor salivary glands (49.0%) by histopathological study. Thus, capsular disorders seem to occur more easily in major salivary glands.
5. Ninety-seven lesions were treated by surgery. Eighty cases were followed over 1 year, and the median follow-up period of those 80 cases was 71.5 months. During the follow-up period, recurrence was found in one primary case of the sublingual gland and one secondary case of the parotid gland.
