The mucoepidermoid carcinoma constitutes the majority of malignant neoplasms found in both major and minor salivary glands. It consists of various proportions of mucous, epidermoid, intermediate, columnar, and clear cells, and is often cystic in pattern. Most of them (84-93%) arise within the parotid glands. On rare occasions, it may also occur within the submandibular or the sublingual gland.
We present here a case of a 47-year-old man with painless mass in the region of his right submandibular gland persisting with voice change and swallowing difficulty. Radical neck dissection provided a large oval material sized 13/11 cm with a tumor formation sized 5/7 cm, grossly presented with multiple cyst cavities filled with hemorrhagic and purulent infiltrate. The growing edge of the tumor was surrounded by multiple identical whitish satellites; one of them distinguishing in size - approximately 2 cm in diameter. Histologically the tumor and the satellites appear with epidermoid, intermediate and mucus-excreting cells with atypia and necrotic fields; with lymphoid infiltration and invasion in the surrounding soft tissues, as well as a metastasis in one of the regional lymph nodes.
This case is an example of both rare location and a typical satellite growth pattern. According to the literature, it might be suggested that this type of growth is also associated with poor prognosis.
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