Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Metastases to the Parotid Gland: Study from a Tertiary Care Centre

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Head and Neck Pathology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Metastases account for 6–25% of parotid tumors, often presenting dilemmas in their diagnosis.

Methods

Parotid metastases diagnosed on histology/cytology were retrieved. MUC2, MUC5AC, androgen receptor immunohistochemistry was performed in select cases.

Results

Fifty-one samples were identified from 42 patients, including 14 aspirates, 7 biopsies and 30 parotidectomies. Previous history was available in 17 cases, 13 parotidectomies accompanied excision of the primary, and relevant clinical data was unavailable for 12 patients. Majority (81%) had head and neck primaries; eye and ocular adnexa were the commonest subsite (52.4%), and sebaceous carcinoma the commonest histology (33%). When history was unavailable, most metastases were initially diagnosed as poorly differentiated carcinoma/malignant tumor, or mucoepidermoid carcinoma on cytology.

Conclusions

Intraparotid metastases encompass a wide spectrum, often mimicking primary salivary gland neoplasms, particularly on limited samples. Metastases should be considered when histological/cytological features are unusual; detailed clinical information and ancillary techniques aid in arriving at an accurate diagnosis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of Data and Material

Not applicable.

Code availability

Not applicable.

References

  1. Kessler AT, Bhatt AA. Review of the major and minor salivary glands, Part 2: Neoplasms and tumor-like lesions. J Clin Imaging Sci. 2018;8:48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Bou-Assaly W. The forgotten lymph nodes: review of the superficial head and neck lymphatic system. J Radiol Imaging. 2016;1:9–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Pastore A, Ciorba A, Soliani M, et al. Secondary malignant tumors of the parotid gland: not a secondary problem! J BUON. 2017;22:513–8.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Franzen A, Buchali A, Lieder A. The rising incidence of parotid metastases: our experience from four decades of parotid gland surgery. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2017;37:264–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Taxy JB. Squamous carcinoma in a major salivary gland: a review of the diagnostic considerations. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2001;125:740–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Emanuelli E, Ciorba A, Borsetto D, et al. Metastasis to parotid gland from non head and neck tumors. J BUON. 2018;23:163–6.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Franzen AM, Günzel T, Lieder A. Parotid gland metastases of distant primary tumours: a diagnostic challenge. Auris Nasus Larynx. 2016;43:187–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Bron LP, Traynor SJ, McNeil EB, O’Brien CJ. Primary and metastatic cancer of the parotid: comparison of clinical behavior in 232 cases. Laryngoscope. 2003;113:1070–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Seifert G, Hennings K, Caselitz J. Metastatic tumors to the parotid and submandibular glands: analysis and differential diagnosis of 108 cases. Pathol Res Pract. 1986;181:684–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Nuyens M, Schüpbach J, Stauffer E, Zbären P. Metastatic disease to the parotid gland. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2006;135:844–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Malata CM, Camilleri IG, McLean NR, Piggoat TA, Soames JV. Metastatic tumours of the parotid gland. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 1998;36:190–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Sarangi J, Kakkar A, Roy D, Thakur R, Singh CA, Sharma MC. Ocular non-teratoid medulloepithelioma with teratoid metastases in ipsilateral intraparotid lymph nodes. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2021;31:126–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Sarangi J, Konkimalla A, Kaur K, Sikka K, Sen S, Kakkar A. Endocrine mucin producing sweat gland carcinoma with metastasis to parotid gland: not as indolent as perceived? Head Neck Pathol. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-021-01353-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kakkar A, Biswas A, Goyal N, et al. The expression of cyclin D1, VEGF, EZH2 and H3K27me3 in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors of CNS: possible role in targeted therapy. Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol. 2016;24:729–37.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Shashinder S, Tang IP, Velayutham P, et al. A review of parotid tumours and their management: a ten-year-experience. Med J Malaysia. 2009;64:31–3.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kashiwagi N, Murakami T, Toguchi M, et al. Metastases to the parotid nodes: CT and MR imaging findings. Dentomaxillofac Radiol. 2016;45:20160201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Mayer M, Thoelken R, Jering M, Märkl B, Zenk J. Metastases of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma seem to be the most frequent malignancies in the parotid gland: a hospital-based study from a salivary gland center. Head Neck Pathol. 2021;15:843–51.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Khullar G, Saikia UN, De D, Radotra BD. Nonmelanoma skin cancers: an Indian perspective. Indian J Dermatopathol Diagn Dermatol. 2014;1:55–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Hussaini AS, Dombrowski JJ, Bolesta ES, Walker RJ, Varvares MA. Esthesioneuroblastoma with bilateral metastases to the parotid glands. Head Neck. 2016;38:E2457-2460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Purkayastha A, Sharma N, Pathak A, Kapur BN, Dutta V. An extremely rare case of metastatic retinoblastoma of parotids presenting as a massive swelling in a child. Transl Pediatr. 2016;5:90–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Wang P, Li YJ, Zhang SB, Cheng QL, Zhang Q, He LS. Metastatic retinoblastoma of the parotid and submandibular glands: a rare case report. BMC Ophthalmol. 2017;17:229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Mazzini C, Pieretti G, Vicini G, et al. Adenocarcinoma arising in the conjunctiva with periparotid lymph node metastases. Cornea. 2020;39:519–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Alhoulaiby S, Abdulrahman A, Alouni G, Mahfoud M, Shihabi Z. Extra-CNS metastasis of glioblastoma multiforme to cervical lymph nodes and parotid gland: a case report. Clin Case Rep. 2020;8:1672–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Swinnen J, Gelin G, Fransis S, Vandevenne J, Van Cauter S. Glioblastoma with extracranial parotid, lymph node, and pulmonary metastases: a case report. Radiol Case Rep. 2019;14:1334–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Romero-Rojas AE, Diaz-Perez JA, Amaro D, Lozano-Castillo A, Chinchilla-Olaya SI. Glioblastoma metastasis to parotid gland and neck lymph nodes: fine-needle aspiration cytology with histopathologic correlation. Head Neck Pathol. 2013;7:409–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Kolokythas A, Weiskopf S, Singh M, Cabay RJ. Renal cell carcinoma: delayed metachronous metastases to parotid and cerebellum. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2015;73:1296–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Mueller SA, Gauthier ME, Ashford B, et al. Mutational patterns in metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. J Invest Dermatol. 2019;139:1449–58.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Shi S, Fang QG, Liu FY, Sun CF. Parotid gland metastasis of lung cancer: a case report. World J Surg Oncol. 2014;12:119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Robinson L, van Heerden MB, Ker-Fox JG, Hunter KD, van Heerden WFP. Expression of mucins in salivary gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Head Neck Pathol. 2021;15:491–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Handra-Luca A, Lamas G, Bertrand JC, Fouret P. MUC1, MUC2, MUC4, and MUC5AC expression in salivary gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma: diagnostic and prognostic implications. Am J Surg Pathol. 2005;29:881–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

No funding was received to conduct this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Jayati Sarangi, Aanchal Kakkar & Diya Roy

  2. Division of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, Centre of Dental Education and Research, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Deepika Mishra

  3. Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Surgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Alok Thakar

  4. Department of Surgical Oncology, BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital and National Cancer Institute, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Suryanarayan V. S. Deo

  5. Department of Medical Oncology, BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital and National Cancer Institute, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Atul Sharma

  6. Department of Radiation Oncology, BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital and National Cancer Institute, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India

    Suman Bhasker

Authors
  1. Jayati Sarangi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aanchal Kakkar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Diya Roy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Deepika Mishra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Alok Thakar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Suryanarayan V. S. Deo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Atul Sharma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Suman Bhasker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

AK conceptualized and designed the study; histology and cytology material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by JS, AK, DR and DM; clinical data was provided by AT, SVSD, AS, SB; first draft of the manuscript was written by JS, all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aanchal Kakkar.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Ethics approval

Ethics approval was obtained to conduct this retrospective analysis of archival material.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sarangi, J., Kakkar, A., Roy, D. et al. Metastases to the Parotid Gland: Study from a Tertiary Care Centre. Head and Neck Pathol 16, 1034–1042 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-022-01458-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-022-01458-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation