Publication:

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

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.