Cytological variety of myoepithelial cells in pleomorphic adenoma of salivary gland

Abstract

To clarify the variety of morphological features of myoepithelial cells, we examined cytological smears of 30 cases histologically diagnosed as pleomorphic adenoma of the salivary gland. The epithelial cells were classified into four types, epithelioid cell type, plasmacytoid cell type, myxoid type and spindle cell type. Their incidences were 46.7%, 60.6%, 66.7% and 20.0%, respectively. In most cases, a mixture of these cell types was detected, and the morphological variety of myoepithelial cells is thought to be a characteristic feature of pleomorphic adenoma.