Minor or accessory salivary glands may occur in the oral cavity, upper respiratory tracts, lips, and skin of the head and neck.
These accessory glands are smaller and far more numerous: perphaps several hundred occur at the sites mentioned. Tumors of minor salivary glands are similar histologically to those of major salivary glands. However, their occurrence in varied anatomic locations prduces different clinical characteristics. These tumors are relatively uncommon, representing between 10 and 20% of all salivary neoplasms. During the past years, these tumors have received scant attention in the medical literature and little information has accrued concerning their surgical management. Author reveiewed the patients with tumors of minor salivary glands who were admitted and tteated in Yonsei University Medical center during a period between 1974 to 1983 and evaluated age, sex, site of tumor origin, presenting symptoms, duration of symptoms, histologic type and treatment. There had been 21 cases of tumors of minor salivary glands in that period.
1) female were affected about 1.3 times more than male.
2) Mean age of benign tumors was about 32 yrs. and that of malignant tumors was about 43.3 yrs.
3) Most frequent site was palate (57%) and next was neck (19%).
4) Most frequent presenting symptom was mass (85.7%). Mean duration of syptoms of benign tumors was 4 yrs. and that of malignant tumors was 1 yrs.
5) Most frequent occuring histologic type of tumors was benign mixed tumor (66,7%) and next were malignant mixed tumor (14.3%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma, low grade (14.3%).
6) Benign tumors were treated with wide excision, most malignant tumors were treated with adequate operation and adjvant therapy.
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