Salivary gland neoplasms in Lagos, Nigeria.

This 14 year retrospective clinico-statistical analysis of 237 salivary gland neoplasms in Lagos, Nigeria, was undertaken with a view to providing further insights into the presentation of this disease in Africans. These neoplasms constituted 10.0% of all head and neck neoplasms, and were most frequently situated at the parotid gland (32.1%), the palate (24.9%) and the submandibular gland (19.4%). While parotid squamous cell carcinoma affected more males (41.2%) than females (4.7%) (P = 0.03); parotid mucoepidermoid carcinoma affected more females (53.3%) than males (11.8%) (P = 0.0149). Furthermore, labial salivary gland tumours affected more females (6.8%) than males (1.7%) (P = 0.05). At presentation, patients with palatal tumours were relatively more advanced in age (Peak = 6th decade) than those with parotid and submandibular tumours (Peak = 3rd decade). Males presenting with pleomorphic adenoma were relatively younger than their female counterparts. This is especially true of palatal pleomorphic adenoma. The recurrence rate for benign tumours was 4.8%. Majority of patients with malignant tumours (83.9%) had significant local extension, regional or distant metastasis at presentation. In twenty-nine percent of these patients with cancer, the disease was controlled for 1-5 years of follow-ups. However, a quarter of these patients with cancer defaulted the planned treatment regime because they could not afford the cost of treatment or they opted for traditional medical care.