title: Myoepithelioma of the head and neck: case report and review.
abstract: The clinical, light, and ultrastructure features of a myoepithelioma occurring on the hard palate of a 24-year-old woman are presented and compared with 41 myoepithelioma of the head and neck described in the English literature. These 42 tumors (39 benign and 3 malignant) occurred in individuals from 14 to 81 years of age, affected both sexes about equally, and most often presented as a slowly enlarging, asymptomatic mass. The parotid gland and palate were the most common sites of occurrence. The tumors are typically circumscribed and encapsulated, vary from 1 to 5 cm in the greatest dimension, and are composed of spindled and/or plasmacytoid myoepithelial cells. Prognosis correlates with histologic appearance and parallels that of the pleomorphic adenoma. Conservative excision with a margin of uninvolved tissue is curative. The differential diagnosis and histogenic relationship with other closely related neoplasms are discussed.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Appel
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: El-Attar
mesh_terms: D008949:Adenoma, Pleomorphic / Q000473:pathology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D009208:Myoepithelioma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010157:Palatal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010950:Plasma Cells / Q000473:pathology