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Rising incidences of Warthin’s tumors may be linked to obesity: a single-institutional experience

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Abstract

Purpose

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of reported Warthin’s tumors, but few risk factors have been described for this benign tumor. Yet, smoking is the only evidently identified risk factor. Obesity and the metabolic syndrome are causally linked to or a risk factor for a variety of diseases. Therefore, we analyzed whether metabolic syndrome, including obesity, might influence the incidence of Warthin’s tumors.

Methods

In this retrospective study, we evaluated 197 patients with Warthin’s tumor. We assessed the tumor size, the body mass index (BMI), comorbidities related to the metabolic syndrome, and cigarette and alcohol consumption. Additionally, we evaluated several blood parameters and their influence.

Results

Warthin’s tumor patients had a significantly higher BMI in comparison to patients with other benign parotid gland tumors (29.1 versus 26.2, p < 0.0001). The rate of metabolic syndrome-associated comorbidities was higher in Warthin’s tumor patients (62.4% versus 35.2%, p < 0.0001).

Conclusion

Our results might be the first step to recognize obesity and its consequences as a co-driver in the formation of Warthin’s tumors. Nevertheless, further studies are requested to validate our results and to answer the question whether obesity or the metabolic syndrome are integrally linked to Warthin’s tumors.

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Acknowledgements

This study was presented at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Villach, Austria, September, 2016.

Funding

No third party funding was obtained for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Lorenz Kadletz, Stefan Grasl & Matthäus C. Grasl

  2. Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Christos Perisanidis

  3. Institute of Head and Neck Surgery, Evangelical Hospital, Vienna, Austria

    Boban M. Erovic

Authors
  1. Lorenz Kadletz
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  2. Stefan Grasl
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  3. Christos Perisanidis
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  4. Matthäus C. Grasl
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  5. Boban M. Erovic
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Boban M. Erovic.

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Kadletz, L., Grasl, S., Perisanidis, C. et al. Rising incidences of Warthin’s tumors may be linked to obesity: a single-institutional experience. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 276, 1191–1196 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05319-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05319-6

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