Kuttner’s tumour: chronic sclerosing sialadenitis- a mimicker of malignancy

ABSTRACT

Background: Kuttner’s tumour is a condition of the submandibular gland which is underreported as a distinct entity. Also called as the chronic sclerosing sialadenitis it resembles a plasmocytic and lymphocytic inflammatory process and presents as a hard and painful mass which clinically mimics a malignancy and raises significant concerns. The objective of the present study was to evaluate cases of Kuttner’s tumor and discuss its clinical and pathological aspects to distinguish it from a definite malignancy and create a grown acceptance of the presence of such an entity in our setting.Methods: We collected 170 cases of submandibular swellings and evaluated in detail the clinical and pathological aspects of eight cases out of them which were later diagnosed to as Kuttner’s tumour.Results: The age of the patients varied between 23 to 61 years (mean age 42.5 years) with 3 males and 5 females. 6 patients reported with a firm to hard painless submandibular mass (5 left sided; 3 right sided) while 2 patients experienced intermittent discomfort. The mean duration of presentation of symptoms was 5.3 months. Fine needle aspiration cytology was done in 6 cases preoperatively. Following submandibular sialadenectomy histopathology showed salivary gland tissue with preserved lobular architecture, but with marked fibrosis, acinar atrophy, and a dense lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates.Conclusions: Kuttner’s tumor may be pre operatively distinguished from a malignancy with improved imaging and a good image guided FNA Cytology saving the clinician and the patient from a lot of dilemma. However, histopathology and immunohistochemistry would be the key in establishing the diagnosis.