Oncocytic carcinoma of lip: A rare neoplasm of minor salivary gland

Abstract

Oncocytic carcinoma is an extremely rare neoplasm of the salivary gland, with only a few cases reported in literature till date. We report the occurrence of this rare lesion in lip in a 43-year-old female presenting with a progressively increasing swelling for which excision was done. Fine needle aspiration was done and the smears revealed tumor cells with well-defined cell borders, round to oval, central to eccentrically located moderately pleomorphic nuclei with fine chromatin, prominent nucleoli and abundant eosinophilic granular cytoplasm. Microscopic examination of the resected tumor showed solid sheets, nests, islands and cords of oncocytic cells diffusely infiltrating the surrounding tissues. After 5 months, the patient again presented with bilateral submandibular and right axillary lymphadenopathy revealing metastatic deposits from oncocytic carcinoma. We report this case of oncocytic carcinoma because of its unusual location, the minor salivary gland of lip being a rare site for the tumor.