Myoepithelial carcinoma arising in recurrent pleomorphic adenoma of the soft palate: A case report with review of literature

Abstract

Myoepithelial carcinomas (MCs) are rare neoplasm of salivary glands composed predominantly of cells with myoepithelial differentiation characterized by infiltrative growth, necrosis, multinodular architecture, and potential for metastasis. Majority are seen in major salivary glands like parotid. They can arise either de novo or within a preexisting pleomorphic adenoma or myoepithelioma, the latter being very uncommon. We report a rare case of malignant myoepithelioma arising from a pleomorphic adenoma of the soft palate. A 66-year-old male patient presented with recurrent soft palate mass, with history of a pleomorphic adenoma at the same location operated 2 years ago. The recurrent tumor showed histopathological features of MC, confirmed by immunohistochemistry.

Keywords

• Myoepithelial carcinoma
• malignant myoepithelioma
• pleomorphic adenoma
• soft-palate tumor