A case report of soft tissue myoepithelial carcinoma in the neck & post-auricular region: A diagnostic challenge
Keywords:
Soft tissue, myoepithelial carcinoma, head & neck, cytology
Abstract
Myoepithelial carcinoma also known as malignant myoepithelioma is a rare aggressive tumor that has been recently described in soft tissue. It is composed exclusively of myoepithelial cells with absence of ductal epithelial structures. We describe a patient with myoepithelial carcinoma of soft tissue occurring in the head and neck. It poses a diagnostic challenge on Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) due to wide spectrum of myoepithelial cell morphology & lack of established criteria for malignancy. The pathologists should be aware of this entity for early and correct diagnosis. To our knowledge, cytological findings of soft tissue myoepithelial carcinoma have not been reported in the literature so far.References
1. Fletcher CDM, Antonescu CR, Heim S, Hornick JL. Myoepithelioma/Myoepithelial carcinoma/Mixed tumor. In: Fletcher CDM, Hogendoorn, Mertens F, Bridge J. WHO classification of tumours of soft tissue & bone. 4th edition. Geneva: WHO Press; 2013: 368-9.
2. Neto AG, Pineda-Daboin K, Luna MA. Myoepithelioma of the soft tissue of the head and neck: a case report and a review of the literature. Head Neck. 2004; 26: 470-3.
3. Hornick JL, Fletcher CDM. Myoepithelial tumors of soft tissue. A clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 101 cases with evaluation of prognostic parameters. Am J Surg Pathol. 2003; 27: 1183–96.
4. Kilpatrick SE, Hitchcock MG, Kraus MD, Calonje E, Fletcher CDM. Mixed tumors and myoepitheliomas of soft tissue: a clinicopathologic study of 19 cases with a unifying concept. Am J Surg Pathol. 1997; 21: 13-22.
5. Ellis GL, Auclair PL. Tumors of the salivary glands. In: Atlas of Tumor Pathology. 3rd edition. Washington, D.C.: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; 1996: 17-68.
6. Park SJ, Kim AR, Gu MJ, Choi JH, Shin JH. Imprint Cytology of Soft Tissue Myoepithelioma: A Case Study. Korean J Pathol. 2013; 47: 299-303.
7. Serry P, Van der Vorst S, Weynand B, Ledeghen S, Rombaux P, Machiels JP, et al. Aggressive soft tissue myoepithelial carcinoma in the neck: A case report. Oral Oncol. 2006; 42: 295– 299.
8. Franchi A, Palomba A, Roselli G, Gambini C, Beltrami G, Capanna R, et al. Primary juxtacortical myoepithelioma/mixed tumor of the bone: a report of 3 cases with clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and molecular characterization. Hum Pathol. 2013; 44: 566–77.
9. Farbod Darvishian, Oscar Lin. Myoepithelial Cell-Rich Neoplasms: Cytologic Features of Benign and Malignant Lesions. Cancer. 2004; 102: 355-61.
10. Chhieng DC, Paulino AF. Cytology of myoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary gland. Cancer. 2002; 96: 32–36.
2. Neto AG, Pineda-Daboin K, Luna MA. Myoepithelioma of the soft tissue of the head and neck: a case report and a review of the literature. Head Neck. 2004; 26: 470-3.
3. Hornick JL, Fletcher CDM. Myoepithelial tumors of soft tissue. A clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 101 cases with evaluation of prognostic parameters. Am J Surg Pathol. 2003; 27: 1183–96.
4. Kilpatrick SE, Hitchcock MG, Kraus MD, Calonje E, Fletcher CDM. Mixed tumors and myoepitheliomas of soft tissue: a clinicopathologic study of 19 cases with a unifying concept. Am J Surg Pathol. 1997; 21: 13-22.
5. Ellis GL, Auclair PL. Tumors of the salivary glands. In: Atlas of Tumor Pathology. 3rd edition. Washington, D.C.: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; 1996: 17-68.
6. Park SJ, Kim AR, Gu MJ, Choi JH, Shin JH. Imprint Cytology of Soft Tissue Myoepithelioma: A Case Study. Korean J Pathol. 2013; 47: 299-303.
7. Serry P, Van der Vorst S, Weynand B, Ledeghen S, Rombaux P, Machiels JP, et al. Aggressive soft tissue myoepithelial carcinoma in the neck: A case report. Oral Oncol. 2006; 42: 295– 299.
8. Franchi A, Palomba A, Roselli G, Gambini C, Beltrami G, Capanna R, et al. Primary juxtacortical myoepithelioma/mixed tumor of the bone: a report of 3 cases with clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and molecular characterization. Hum Pathol. 2013; 44: 566–77.
9. Farbod Darvishian, Oscar Lin. Myoepithelial Cell-Rich Neoplasms: Cytologic Features of Benign and Malignant Lesions. Cancer. 2004; 102: 355-61.
10. Chhieng DC, Paulino AF. Cytology of myoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary gland. Cancer. 2002; 96: 32–36.
Published
2016-07-28
Issue
Section
Case Report
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access at http://opcit.eprints.org/oacitation-biblio.html).
