Case study of a parotid gland adenocarcinoma dedifferentiated from epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma

Dedifferentiation is defined as high-grade malignant tumor development out of a low-grade malignant tumor. We present an adenocarcinoma tumor of the parotid gland that was dedifferentiated from a low-grade epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma and was followed up for 3 years. Our patient, a 46-year-old female, presented with a left parotid mass of 20-year duration. Histopathologic results showed that there was only one area of typical epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma, with foci of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified; NOS) and clear cytoplasm in the parotid gland. Immunohistochemical staining results showed SMA (+), P63 (+), CK8 (+), and S100 (+) on epithelial cells. A review of the literature revealed 22 previously reported cases of dedifferentiated epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma. In these cases, the malignant tumors that dedifferentiated from epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma were adenoid cystic carcinoma, actinic cell carcinoma, polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and intraductal carcinoma. In our case, the malignant tumor that dedifferentiated from the epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma was a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Histopathological results showed that metastases were not seen in the neck-dissection material. As a result, our case will make a contribution to the literature in terms of prognosis, because there are very few reported cases of dedifferentiated adenocarcinoma development arising from epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma.