Necrotizing sialometaplasia can hide the presence of salivary gland tumors. A case series.

OBJECTIVE: Necrotizing sialometaplasia (NS) is an uncommon benign process which affects minor and, more rarely, major salivary glands. While self-limiting, the condition might be clinically and histologically mistaken for malignancy. Furthermore, NS may accompany neoplasms. The aim of this paper is to report a series of Italian patients affected by NS associated with an unusual high presence of neoplasms of minor and major salivary glands.

STUDY DESIGN: Clinical and histological features of twelve patients with NS were retrospectively evaluated.

RESULTS: Eight patients presented NS of the minor salivary glands of the palate, two of them had associated neoplasms (pleomorphic adenoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma) at the same site. Four patients had NS of the parotid gland associated with a history of fine needle aspiration biopsy performed to diagnose parotid neoplasms. These were epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, Warthin's tumor and oncocytoma, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Tumors of minor and major salivary glands might be associated with NS more frequently than previously reported. While NS of the parotid is generally the result of invasive diagnostic procedure and is detected after the excision of the tumor, NS of the minor salivary glands may obscure an underlying neoplasm, resulting in delays in referral or treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.