A retrospective analysis of 412 cases of malignant tumors in parotid gland.

PURPOSE: To summarize the clinical and imaging features of malignant tumors in parotid gland. METHODS: Four hundred and twelve cases were collected in the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery and department of otolaryngology head & neck surgery of general hospital of Chinese PLA and department of oral and maxillofacial surgery of first affiliated hospital of Dalian medical university. RESULTS: The top three malignant tumors were mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma and acinic cell carcinoma in parotid gland. Of all the collected cases, 73.1% had certain symptoms or recent rapid growth, 58% had tough quality, 66.2% had poor mobility, 32.3% had unclear boundary and 36.8% had pain. Of all cases with imaging examination, 74.2% and 68.7% demonstrated irregular shapes in CT and ultrasound imaging, respectively. The accuracy was 83.7% and 91.8% for fine-needle aspiration cytology and frozen section examination in diagnosis, respectively. The accuracy was 79.4% for frozen section examination in diagnosis of highly malignant tumors in parotid gland. CONCLUSIONS: There are diverse pathological types of malignant tumors in parotid gland. The clinical and imaging features are helpful to diagnosis. The accuracy is high in diagnosis of malignant tumors in parotid gland by fine-needle aspiration cytology and frozen section examination [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]