Abstract
Melanocytes can be found in the stroma of salivary glands and their tumors. However, the presence of melanin pigment in the tumor cells of salivary gland origin is exceedingly rare. A 42-year-old man presented with a nasal tumor that was black in color. The histology was that of a minor salivary gland carcinoma with foci resembling an adenoid cystic carcinoma. The myoepithelial cells of this tumor contained melanin pigment. The possible histogenesis of this lesion and an explanation for the occurrence of melanin pigment in a salivary gland tumor are discussed.
References
Aufdemorte TB, Van Sickels JE, Glass BJ (1985) Melanin pigmentation in a mucoepidermoid tumor of a minor salivary gland. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 43(11):876–879
Marucci G, Marchetti C, Betts CM, Foschinin MP (2005) Pigmented mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the oral cavity: a case report. Int J Surg Pathol 13:295–297
Sekine J, Anami M, Fujita S, Vieth M, Inokuchi T (2005) A case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma with melanin pigmentation manifested in the palate. Virchows Arch 446(4):460–462
Takeda Y (1996) Stromal melanocytosis of an adenoid cystic carcinoma arising from the palatal minor salivary gland. Pathol Int 46(6):467–470
Takeda Y (1997) Melanocytes in the human parotid gland. Pathol Int 47(8):581–583
Takeda Y (2000) Existence and distribution of melanocytes and HMB-45-positive cells in the human minor salivary glands. Pathol Int 50(1):15–19
Takeda Y, Masanobu S, Nakamura S (2004) Pigmented pleomorphic adenoma, a novel melanin-pigmented benign salivary gland tumor. Virchows Arch 445:199–202
Thomas KM, Hutt MSR, Borgstein J (1980) Salivary gland tumors in Malawi. Cancer 46:2328–2334
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Desai, S.S., Borges, A.M. Melanin bearing myoepithelial cells in a pigmented salivary gland carcinoma: a new avatar of myoepithelial cell? A case report. Virchows Arch 448, 521–523 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-005-0125-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-005-0125-x