Adenoid cystic carcinoma mimicking benign mucosal cyst of maxillary sinus

Abstract

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is an infrequent neoplasm arising in minor salivary glands and contiguous tissues in the head and neck region. It is further communal in the minor salivary glands (>25%) fairly than in the major salivary glands (about 5%). ACC has distinctive histologic features, with cribriform and tubular growth patterns of basaloid cells revealing principally a myoepithelial cellular phenotype. The clinical and pathological findings emblematic of this tumor include slow growth, perineural invasion, and impending local recurrence. This report presents a solitary lesion of the left maxilla which mimicked a benign mucosal cyst of the maxillary sinus. Initial clinical presentation and investigations were misleading while the microscopic examination of the excised lesion revealed an ACC.