Basal cell adenocarcinoma of the minor salivary gland: a case report

ABSTRACT

Basal cell adenocarcinoma is an epithelial neoplasm which is cytologically and histomorphologically similar to basal cell adenoma but is different because of the infilitrative growth. This tumor, a rare salivary gland tumor newly classified as basal cell adenocarcinoma by the WHO in 1991, is infiltrative, locally destructive and tends to recur but metastasis is less common. The differential diagnosis includes basal cell adenoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, and basaloid squamous carcinoma. Nearly 90 percent of these tumors occurr in the parotid gland and can be classified into low grade carcinomas with a relative good prognosis. Basal cell adenocarcinoma of minor salivary gland is very rare and has a less favorable clinical course compared with that of the major salivary glands. This is a case of basal cell adenocarcinoma occurring at the minor salivary gland of the soft palate. We treated this patient with block excision and adjunctive radiation therapy.