title: Myoepithelial Carcinoma of the Nasopharynx: Report of a Rare Case and a Review of the Literature.
abstract: Salivary gland carcinomas are very rare in the nasopharynx, with the most frequent histologic types being adenoid cystic carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified. Myoepithelial carcinoma (MECA) is a rare tumor of the salivary glands, and there are only three previously reported cases of nasopharyngeal MECA. The case presented is the fourth reported case of MECA in the nasopharynx. Due to the morphologic heterogeneity of MECA, immunohistochemistry is indispensable in ascertaining the diagnosis. MECA is a locally aggressive tumor, but the long-term prognosis of this tumor in the nasopharynx remains uncertain. In our case the tumor was unresectable and the patient was given chemo-radiotherapy. Despite this, residual tumor was seen on nasoscopy 5 months after initial diagnosis and was documented on a re-biopsy which displayed the same histomorphologic features as the original tumor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National University Health System, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Singapore.
authors.forename: Gwyneth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Soon
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, National University Health System, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Singapore. fredrikpetersson@live.se.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petersson
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009208:Myoepithelioma / Q000473:pathology*; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Immunohistochemistry; Myoepithelial carcinoma; Nasopharynx