A case of myoepithelial carcinoma arising in the mucosa of the lower lip

Abstract

Myoepithelial carcinoma (MC) is an extremely rare tumor accounting for approximately 0.2% of all salivary gland tumors. It is often difficult to diagnose MC because the tumor cells of MC show a wide variety of morphologies. We report a case of MC arising in the lower lip.
A 54-year-old male patient was referred to our department for evaluation of a mass in the right lower lip. Physical examination revealed a submucosal mass lesion measuring 2.5 × 2.0 cm with a well-defined border. It was elastic soft and ovate in shape. There was no palpable cervical lymphadenopathy. Biopsy of the mass suggested epithelial malignant tumor. He underwent local excision of the tumor and the resulting surgical defect was covered by a split-thickness skin graft. Postoperative histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of MC with neuroendocrine differentiation.
The patient is being followed up and shows no evidence of local recurrence or lymph node or distant metastasis of the tumor 24 months after surgery.