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Clear Cell Entities of the Head and Neck: A Selective Review of Clear Cell Tumors of the Salivary Glands

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Abstract

Clear cell changes may be observed in virtually any benign or malignant tumor of epithelial, mesenchymal, melanocytic and hematopoeitic derivation not be attributed to variable etiologies. In general, benign and malignant clear cell neoplasms of the head and neck are rare. They may involve various regions and may be of diverse derivations, with only 1–2% of tumors of the salivary glands, jaws and oral mucosa are primarily or almost exclusively composed of clear cells (Maiorano et al., Semin Diagn Pathol 14:203–212, 1997). This review will selectively discuss the clinicopathological features of salivary gland tumors with clear cell changes, which, at times, may pose a diagnostic challenge and dilemma.

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Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the generous contribution of Dr. Omar Hameed form UAB, Department of Pathology for contributing the images in Fig. 3.

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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, PD6A, Suite 149 619 19th St. S, Birmingham, AL, 35249-4550, USA

    Nasser Said-Al-Naief

  2. Center for Metabolic Bone Disease, UAB, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Nasser Said-Al-Naief

  3. Compréhensive Cancer Centre, UAB, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Nasser Said-Al-Naief

  4. Division of Surgical Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

    Michael J. Klein

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  1. Nasser Said-Al-Naief
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Correspondence to Nasser Said-Al-Naief.

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Said-Al-Naief, N., Klein, M.J. Clear Cell Entities of the Head and Neck: A Selective Review of Clear Cell Tumors of the Salivary Glands. Head and Neck Pathol 2, 111–115 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-008-0052-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-008-0052-7

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