Epidemiology of salivary glands diseases in São Luís - MA – a survey of twenty years

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to detect the prevalence of the salivary glands diseases at the Instituto Maranhense de Oncologia Aldenora Bello in São Luís, during the period between January 1985 and December 2005. The data collected were classified according to the histopathological diagnosis and the variables sex, anatomical site and age were also considered. The sample was consisted of 740 cases distributed in 21 different histopathological diagnoses, mostly represented by pleomorphic adenoma (205 cases), followed by sialadenitis (142 cases) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (108 cases). The most prevalent lesions group was the benign neoplasms, followed by malignant neoplasms and infectious conditions. There was slight prevalence of females and of patients in the third decade of life (123 cases). The parotid gland was the most affected anatomical site. It was observed that salivary glands diseases had a predilection for female patients and young adults. The neoplasms salivary glands were lesions of high occurrence, justifying the largest number on studies in the literature focused on these diseases.