Primary cutaneous myoepithelial carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

This study describes a case of primary myoepithelial carcinoma of the skin and reviews the available literature on this topic. Myoepitheliomas and carcinomas arise most frequently from myoepithelial cells within the salivary glands but are found in many anatomical locations. We documented a case of an 80-year-old man with a 2 × 2 × 1 cm tumour located on the scalp. This tumour emerged over a period of 2 months. The tumour was radically excised, and histological examination revealed a cutaneous myoepithelial carcinoma. At an 18-month follow-up, no recurrence of the tumour was found. A systematic literature search identified 23 papers that reported 58 cases of cutaneous myoepitheliomas and myoepithelial carcinomas. All cases are reviewed in the presented paper. This case report and literature review serves to increase awareness regarding myoepithelial carcinomas. These tumours exhibit high metastatic potential, and it is thus very important to perform radical surgery.