Case-report: metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland

Metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland. We present a case of metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma (MPA). The patient died in 2002 at the age of 64 years, following on an initial diagnosis of a pleomorphic adenoma of the right parotid gland at the age of nineteen, multiple local recurrences and finally rib metastases. Histological examination of the excised tissue from the parotid gland and the metastases showed it to be a pleomorphic adenoma without any signs of malignancy, although the metastatic deposits consisted mostly of a myoepithelial component. Both in our case as in most of the literature, MPA follows a probable incomplete removal of the first tumour. We conclude that the first operation is of great importance for the prevention of late recurrences and metastatic spread.