Pigmented mucoepidermoid carcinoma, a case report and review of the literature on melanin-pigmented salivary gland tumors

Abstract

This paper reports a well-differentiated mucoepidermoid carcinoma containing numerous melanocytes in the parenchyma in a middle-aged Japanese man. In addition to the characteristic histopathologic features of well-differentiated mucoepidermoid carcinoma, various-formed and -sized, pigmented cells were widely distributed in the parenchyma. Many of these were considered to be melanocytes containing melanin in their cytoplasm. Perusal of the English-language literature revealed only four cases of salivary gland tumors with parenchymal pigmentation: three mucoepidermoid carcinomas and one pleomorphic adenoma. The possible histogenesis of melanocytes in the salivary gland lesions is discussed, although no firm conclusion could be drawn. (J. Oral Sci. 48, 253-256, 2006)