Abstract
We report a case in which pulmonary metastasis arose from a recurrent pleomorphic adenoma in the minor salivary gland. The patient, aged 43 had been receiving surgical treatment for a locally recurrent pleomorphic adenoma and pulmonary metastasis. He eventually died of cardiac tamponade due to the invasion of recurrent pulmonary tumor 19 months later. Pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary gland are usually regarded as benign tumors. In a small percentage of such cases, so-called “malignant mixed tumors” can also arise from otherwise apparently benign lesions, and thus sometimes give rise to distant metastasis. For a resection of primary pleomorphic adenoma it is therefore very important to remove the tumor completely without rupturing its capsule at the first operation.
