title: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the tongue base mimicking an ectopic thyroid.
abstract: A 69-year-old woman with mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the tongue base came under our observation complaining of repeated episodes of haemoptysis. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the tongue base gives rise to a rather vague and aspecific symptomatology. Early symptoms include foreign body sensation in the oral cavity, undefined paraesthesia, and sialorrhoea. With the progression of disease, dysphagia, otalgia, and painful swallowing are usually referred. We report a case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the tongue base mimicking an ectopic thyroid.
authors.affiliation: ENT Section, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Rome "La Sapienza", 00192 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martellucci
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pagliuca
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Vincentiis
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosato
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scaini
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gallipoli
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallo