title: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma presenting as a large cyst of the parotid gland in HIV disease.
abstract: Cystic lesions of the parotid gland may be the presenting symptom in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients. The most common lesion is the benign lymphoepithelial cyst. Malignant lesions may also be associated with-or be hidden by-a cystic mass. We report a case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma in a 40-year-old HIV-positive woman who presented with a large cystic mass of the parotid that had been previously misdiagnosed as benign on several fine-needle aspiration biopsies. On our histologic examination, the true pathologic nature of the lesion was revealed. We suggest that an image-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy of the thickened wall of cystic masses of the parotid may be more diagnostic than a random sampling of the contents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL 32209, USA. nelson.goldman@jax.ufl.edu
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Sania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shuja
authors.forename: Raafat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Makary
authors.forename: Reginald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Griffin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D018277:Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D020420:Cyst Fluid / Q000166:cytology; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D061705:Image-Guided Biopsy; D008210:Lymphocele / Q000473:pathology*; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery