The Prevalence of Salivary Gland Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma in Iran: An 11 years’ retrospective study

Introdouction: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is one of the most common salivary gland malignancies. The prevalence of salivary gland tumors varies in different geographic areas. In this report, we evaluated the prevalence of MEC in Iran and compared it with that previously reported in other countries. Materials and methods: The files of oral pathology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Amiralam and Taleghani hospitals, served as the source of the material from 2001 to 2011 for this study. Information, including patient’s age, gender, tumor location, clinical symptoms and histopathologic grade was recorded. Mann-Whitney test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma accounted for 24.1% of salivary gland malignancies during the 11-year period. Most cases were diagnosed in the third to fifth decades of life and the male to female ratio was 1:03. The parotid gland was the most common location (49.5%). Tumor grading was available for 92 neoplasms and of them, 39.13% was graded low, 32.6% was intermediate and 28.26% was high grade. Swelling, pain and ulceration existed in 68.6%, 30.4% and 4.8% of patients, respectively. Forty-four point forty-five per cent of cases that demonstrated pain were high grade, 29.6% were intermediate, and 25.9% were low grade (p = 0.03). High grade tumors were more common in males (p = 0.06). Conclusion: The mean age, site of involvement, sex of patient, and microscopic grading of salivary gland MEC in the Iranian population were found to be similar to those of most other countries.