Inflammatory pseudotumor of the parotid gland

Inflammatory pseudotumor is a term that refers to a reactive pseudoneoplastic disorder that can appear in different locations of the human body. The lung is the most frequently affected organ. The etiology is still unknown. It affects individuals of both sexes and of a wide range of ages. The diagnosis is still difficult and it is based on the histological examination of the lesions composed of four cell-types: histiocytes, myofibroblasts, plasma cells and lymphocytes. With regard to the treatment regimes there is no agreement. Treatment ranges from surgical excision to radiotherapy, chemotherapy or steroids. The purpose of this article is to report one case of inflammatory pseudotumor located in the parotid gland and to make a special point of the difficulty in arriving at a correct diagnosis in order to achieve the most adequate treatment.