Myoepithelioma arising from the buccal gland: histopathological and immunohistochemical studies

Abstract

A rare case of myoepithelioma of the buccal gland in a 54-year-old Japanese woman is reported. As the swelling exhibited a normal mucosal color and was relatively well defined, showing no ulcers, a benign salivary gland tumor was suspected upon clinical inspection. Microscopically, the parenchyma of the present case mainly consisted of plasmacytoid cells with round nuclei and eosinophilic cytoplasm, and partial spindle cells with eccentric nuclei. The stroma was composed of fibro-hyalinized or myxoid connective tissue that separated from the parenchyma. Immunohistochemically, the cytoplasm of the plasmacytoid and spindle cells was moderately positive for vimentin and GFAP, whereas the buccal gland adjacent to the tumor was negative for these antibodies. S-100 protein reactivity is strong for both types tumor cells. Actin reactivity was negative for both types of tumor cells, notwithstanding the fact that myoepithelial cells of the buccal gland were positively stained. Anti-cytokeratin reactivity was weak for both types of tumor cells in portions of the plexiform and solid areas; nevertheless, the buccal glands were moderately positive. These results suggest that neoplasmic myoepithelial cells exhibit abnormal differentiation and modification. There have been only two published reports of myoepithelioma arising from the buccal gland in the literature to date.