Adenosquamous carcinoma. A rare neoplasm with an aggressive course

We report a case of adenosquamous carcinoma that arose in the maxillary alveolus of a 61-year-old woman, metastasized rapidly to submandibular and deep cervical lymph nodes, and caused death in spite of surgery and radiotherapy. Our case highlights the aggressive behavior associated with this tumor when it occurs in the oral cavity and at most other body sites. In addition, the oral adenosquamous carcinoma may not be as rare as the small number of reported cases might suggest because the adenocarcinoma component may form a very small proportion of the tumor as in our case, and the histopathologic criteria for diagnosis are not clearly established. Thus some cases of adenosquamous carcinoma may not be recognized as such. This underlines the important role of the histopathologist in the diagnosis of oral cancer by the recognition of specific subtypes of cancer and their associated prognostic significance.