De novo myoepithelial carcinoma with multiple metastases arising from a submandibular salivary gland: A case report

Abstract

Salivary gland carcinomas are rare tumors, representing ~0.5% of all malignancies. Myoepithelioma is also representing ~1% of all salivary gland tumors. Myoepithelial carcinoma (MC) is even rarer, representing 0.2 to 0.6% of all salivary gland tumors. We herein report a case of MC with multiple metastases arising from a submandibular gland in a 71-year-old male patient and present the associated imaging findings. The patient was considered to have a de novo type of myoepithelial carcinoma, which is reportedly associated with higher malignancy than the transformation type of the disease (i.e., a malignant change from pleomorphic adenoma or myoepithelioma). This was reflected in the multiple lung and bone metastases sites and strong positivity for p53 and Ki-67.