Melanin pigmented oncocytic metaplasia of the nasopharynx

Abstract

A 64-year-old man presented with a history of discomfort of the throat of a few weeks' duration. Nasoscopic examination revealed multiple small, brown pigmentations at the left suprapharynx, the base of the left nasal cavity and the pharyngeal openings of the auditory tube on both sides. Microscopically, the lesion showed a glandular pattern of oncocytic epithelium with abundant pigmented granules and melanophages in the surrounding stroma. Immunohistochemically, the dendritic cells in the basal layer were positive for S-100 protein. Electron microscopic study revealed numerous fully melanized melanosomes and hypertrophied mitochondria in the oncocytic cells. Oncocytic cells do not produce melanin for themselves, melanin granules apparently being transferred from the adjacent dendritic cells to the oncocytic cells.