Myoepithelioma of the tongue-clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features

Abstract

Myoepithelioma is a rare neoplasm in the salivary glands, and was recognised as a histologically distinct entity by the WHO in 1991. These tumours stem from myoepithelial cells, found in secretory organs such as salivary, lacrimal sweat and mammary glands. The purpose of this article is to review the recently published scientific literature regarding this disease and to present a related clinical case study.To find relevant literature for this study, a search was conducted in the PubMEd database for articles published between 1990-2014 containing the terms "myoepithelioma AND tongue." The clinical case study concerns a 15-year-old female patient who was referred to the maxillofacial surgery unit of the Clinica Alemana clinic in Santiago with a lingual nodule that had been under observation, and that had grown slowly and asymptomatically for a year.The patient was given an excisional biopsy on the affected area, revealing a tumour composed of fusiform epithelioid cells with round nuclei. The immunohistochemical profile shows positive staining for vimentin and p63, drawing the definitive diagnosis of myoepithelioma of the tongue. Our work led us to the conclusion that myoepithelioma is a very rare disease and that its definitive diagnosis can only be arrived at after histopathological and immunohistochemical testing.