Is Swollen Paranoid Gland In The Neck A Symptom Of Benign Tumor?

Posted on Sat, 17 Sep 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 17 Sep 2016 Answered on

Tue, 4 Oct 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : my paratoid gland is swollen, like pea size, for over two weeks now, doesnt hurt, my ent dr and gp dr says it movable, they both think its not cancer, my ent dr gave me antibiotics, after a few days started to decrease in size but after 6 day on antibiotics it came back to original size and has swollen up a little more, maybe little under marble size, Ent dr sent me to get ct scan today, of course they cant tell me anything, but they mentioned they did see the spot on the soft tissue scan, ive been scarred its cancer for weeks, im told cancer is rare there, but could other things like a cyst, benign tumor, anything else show up on that scan, just scarred its cancer? i wont get results to next week

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
USG Neck, FNAC, CT Scan, in this order.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for your query.

1. You should get a USG (Ultrasound) of the Neck done to determine if this lump is salivary gland tissue or a lymph node.

2. This should be followed by an FNAC (Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology) Test where a fine needle (26G) is inserted into the lump, preferably under USG guidance to get e tissue diagnosis.

3. CT Scan can be done if the FNAC report shows salivary gland tissue, especially if the lump is not benign.

4. Salivary gland cancers are rare. Cancers do not respond or decrease in size with antibiotics, even transiently. Your age is also lesser than the average age of presentation of salivary tumors.

5. Hence there is no cause for worry. You can upload these reports here or directly at bit.ly/Dr-Sumit-Bhatti for further discussion.

I hope that I have answered your queries. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sumit Bhatti (2 hours later)

do many things show up on a ct scan? not just cancer, as the techs said they were able to find the issue on the scan?

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (11 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Routine imaging shows form, not function.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for writing back.

1. Routine imaging shows form (structure), not function.

2. FNAC or biopsy is necessary for identifying the tissue.

I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee