Cytological Features of Carcinosarcoma ex Pleomorphic Adenoma of the Parotid Gland: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND

Carcinosarcoma of the salivary gland is an extremely rare tumor composed of carcinomatous and sarcomatoid components. This report describes the cytological and pathological findings of a case of carcinosarcoma ex pleomorphic adenoma arising in the right parotid gland.

CASE: A 47-year-old female visited a hospital with swelling of the right parotid region, slight pain and facial palsy. Fine-needle aspiration smears showed both clustered epithelium-like cells and singly scattered cells in a necrotic background. The cells, especially the latter, exhibited significant cellular pleomorphism and had irregularly shaped nuclei. Myxoid stroma-like cell clusters without cellular atypism were also seen. The right parotid gland was resected, and the tumor tissue was histologically diagnosed as carcinosarcoma ex pleomorphic adenoma.

CONCLUSION

The cytological findings of carcinosarcoma ex pleomorphic adenoma have been reported in very few cases. In the present case, various components, including the presence of atypical epithelium-like cell clusters and singly scattered atypical cells with stromal components on cytological specimens, led to consideration of the diagnosis of carcinosarcoma ex pleomorphic adenoma.