Primary Salivary Gland Lymphomas: A Case Series

Objectives: Primary non-Hodgkin`s lymphoma (NHL) of the salivary gland is a rare occurrence among head and neck tumors accounting for approximately 5% of the extra-nodal NHL and only 1.7% of the salivary gland malignancies. The most commonly involved salivary gland is parotid, followed by the submandibular gland, minor salivary glands, and sublingual gland. Primary NHLs of the salivary glands have been reported to occur in a background of chronic immune-mediated diseases, such as Sjogren`s syndrome and benign lymphoepithelial lesion. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult because of its infrequency and atypical findings of fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, patients are subjected to radical surgical procedures before a definite diagnosis is made.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 8 patients with malignant lymphoma of the salivary glands between 2008 and 2018. Clinical and pathological information was collected from medical records.

Results: Patients consisted of five females and three males presented with swellings in salivary gland region, with five patients having parotid swelling, two patients having submandibular region swelling and one patient having both submandibular and sublingual glands enlargement. None of the patients had B symptoms or lymph node enlargement. Three patients complained of pain in the swelling. All patients had unilateral involvement. The biopsy was performed and the specimen was submitted for histopathological examination.

Conclusion: The present study shows that the salivary gland lymphomas vary widely in clinical features and these should be taken into account by medical practitioners in the differential diagnosis when assessing the pathology salivary glands