FROM 1940 to 1968 inclusive, 673 patients with parotid swelling, excepting postoperative and chronic infective parotitis, were seen at the Edinburgh Radiotherapy Department. The initial diagnosis of adenolymphoma in 41 patients was confirmed in 34 (5.05 per cent). A retrospective analysis of the records of these patients, whose clinical data were abstracted on to specially prepared pro-formas, provides the material for this report.
The histological criteria used were those generally accepted for this tumour (Lucas, 1964):-I . The presence of a lymphoid element of organized lymphatic tissue with germinal centres surrounded by a mantle of lymphocytes.
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This lymphoid tissue clothed by epithelium generally arranged in double layers, the outer layer consisting of regular columnar or cuboidal cells, the cells of the inner layer being less regular in size and shape; both cell types having finely granular and markedly eosinophilic cytoplasm and round or oval nuclei.
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The presence of numerous cystic spaces containing amorphous eosinophilic material, into which cell columns of lymphoid tissue covered by epithelium protrude in a convoluted pattern (Fig. ).
In I case marked fibrosis was also present. Of the 7 cases that did not fulfil these criteria, 4 were benign lympho-epithelial lesions (Godwin, 1952), I was a malignant lymphoma, I a branchial cleft cyst, and I a case of reactive hyperplasia.
The purposes of this paper are to record the clinical features of adenolymphoma and to discuss the methods of treatment and the outcome in treated cases.