Warthin’s tumour seems to be the most common benign neoplasm of the parotid gland in Germany

Purpose Recent reports indicate an increase in the prevalence of Warthin’s tumours (adenolymphoma) with percentages which exceed that of pleomorphic adenomas (PA) in the same registries. The purpose of this study is to analyse a large cohort of benign parotid tumours in relation to various demographic and other patients’ characteristics that might affect their incidence. Methods A retrospective review of prospective collected data was performed on all patients who have been operated for a parotid mass in the last 5 years. A total of 474 patients with benign lesion were included in the study. Age, gender, smoking status, histological diagnosis, site of lesion, and size of tumour were recorded. Results Warthin’s tumours were the most common benign lesions, found in 201 (42.4%) parotic glands followed by pleomorphic adenomas found in 138 (29.1%) of these surgical cases. Patients with WT had a mean age of 61.6 years instead of 52 years for PA patients ( t = 6.589, p