[Highly malignant papillary cystadenocarcinoma of the tongue: a case report]

Papillary cystadenocarcinoma (PC) of the tongue is an extremely rare malignant neoplasm arising from the minor salivary glands. Its anatomopathological features are sufficiently characterized although clinical manifestation and biological behavior are not yet well defined. The Authors describe a highly malignant case of PC of the tongue in a 71-year-old man treated with surgery, followed by radiotherapy. Clinical and anatomopathological characteristics of this rare neoplasm are described. A review of the international literature confirms how unusual this disorder is and explains the poor tumor histotype characterization. Finally the Authors assert that this is the first case of highly malignant PC with localization limited to the tongue reported in literature. The Authors conclude suggesting a clinical-therapeutic procedure to deal with this rare pathology.