Nonparotid parapharyngeal oncocytoma: a case report and literature review

Oncocytoma is a rare, benign salivary neoplasm composed of mitochondria-rich cells called oncocytes. Although oncocytoma usually occurs in the parotid glands, it has much less commonly been reported to occur in minor salivary gland tissues. Although there have been a few reported cases of oncocytomas being found in the parapharyngeal space, most if not all cases seem to be extensions of deep lobe parotid tumors. We present a case of a 73-year-old man with a previous history of prostate cancer that had the incidental finding of an (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) image of a highly avid parapharyngeal space lesion noted on a follow-up positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) scan. Excision of the mass, through a transcervical approach, demonstrated it to be an isolated oncocytoma of the parapharyngeal space, noncontiguous with the parotid gland. Based on our literature search, this may be the first such reported case. A brief review of the available literature examining the known body of knowledge regarding these neoplasms is presented.