It is the second most common salivary gland neoplasm
This tumor exclusively occurs in parotid
Occurs more commonly in males and in the 5th and 6th decade.
It is associated smoking
Clinical presentation: Warthins tumor present as painless, sometimes fluctuant swellings in the lower portion of the parotid gland
Morphology
Gross
Well circumscribed encapsulated tumor measuring 2 to 5cms in diametre
Cut section: Cystic or cleft like spaces filled with a mucinous or serous secretions. Lining of the cyst shows knob like protrusions or papillary excresences
Microscopy :
It is an encapsulated lesion with cystic spaces lined by the papillary proliferation of bilayered oncocytic epithelium whose supporting stroma is composed largely of lymphoid tissue
The two types of epithelium are (a) the luminal epithelium composed of tall columnar cells having granular eosinophilic cytoplasm and nuclei in the centre or apical ends of the cells (b) Beneath the columnar cells are smaller basaloid cells which are triangular having fusiform nuclei and are arranged perpendicular to the long axis of tall columnar cells.
The stroma present below the epithelium shows lymphoid tissue with germinal centres
