Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 26, 2020; 8(14): 3090-3096
Published online Jul 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i14.3090
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma in the infratemporal fossa: A case report
Han-Yu Zhang, Hong-Yu Yang
Han-Yu Zhang, Hong-Yu Yang, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518036, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang HY and Yang HY wrote and edited the final manuscript; both authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Basic Research Program of Shenzhen Innovation Council of China, No. JCYJ 20180228175511141 and No. SZBC2017023; and Sanming Project of Medicine in Shenzhen, No. SZSM 201512036 (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Team, Professor Yu Guangyan, Stomatology Hospital Peking University).
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hong-Yu Yang, PhD, Professor, Surgeon, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, No. 1120, Lianhua Road, Futian District, Shenzhen 518036, Guangdong Province, China. hyyang192@hotmail.com
Received: February 19, 2020
Peer-review started: February 19, 2020
First decision: May 26, 2020
Revised: June 5, 2020
Accepted: June 25, 2020
Article in press: June 25, 2020
Published online: July 26, 2020
Processing time: 156 Days and 5.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is the most common primary epithelial salivary gland malignancy. It mostly occurs in the major or intraoral minor salivary glands but rarely in the infratemporal fossa. Here, we present a case of aggressive mucoepidermoid carcinoma in the infratemporal fossa with neck lymph node metastasis and also discuss diagnostic and treatment strategies.

CASE SUMMARY

A 39-year-old woman with a mass located in the right submandibular area presented to our department. Physical examination revealed lymphadenopathy on the right submandibular side measuring 2.5 cm × 3 cm that was hard and had poor mobility. Results of nasal endoscopy were unremarkable. Ultrasound examination revealed an enlarged lymph node at level II of the right side. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the metastatic lymph node revealed malignant cells with infection. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed an enhancing ill-defined soft tissue mass in the right infratemporal region. Positron emission tomography/computed tomography revealed hyperintensity in the right infratemporal fossa along with lymphadenopathy at level II of the right-side lymph node. The patient underwent extended resection of the primary tumor, and ipsilateral radical neck dissection was also completed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry revealed a high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. No signs and symptoms of recurrence of the neoplasm were present after 20 mo of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Positron emission tomography/computed tomography play a key role in primary tumor localization. Furthermore, histopathology and immunohistochemistry play pivotal roles in disease diagnosis.

Keywords: Infratemporal fossa; Mucoepidermoid carcinoma; Metastasis; Positron emission tomography/computed tomography; High-grade; Case report

Core tip: Here, we report a patient with mucoepidermoid carcinoma in the infratemporal fossa. Because of the particular location and atypical oral presentation, we also review corresponding literature to discuss the diagnostic and treatment strategies for mucoepidermoid carcinoma.