Sclerosing mucoepidermoid carcinoma with eosinophilia of the salivary glands

We encountered two cases of low malignant mucoepidermoid carcinoma with scanty cellular atypism which originated in the parotid or submandibular gland and was characterized by marked fibrosis and eosinophilic infiltration within tumor tissue despite the predominance of the squamous component. Here we report these two cases and provide a review of the literature. We believe that clinically these two tumors with stromal fibrosis and eosinophilic infiltration have a low malignant potential, although histological examination revealed a scanty mucus-producing epithelial component. Therefore, we consider this type of tumor as a new subtype of mucoepidermoid carcinoma. A low-malignant mucoepidermoid carcinoma with stromal fibrosis and eosinophilic infiltration, as described in these two cases, may be misdiagnosed as a highly malignant mucoepidermoid carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma because of its histologically scanty mucus-producing epithelial component. The objective of this study was to clarify their differences and to discuss the rendering of an accurate histological diagnosis, the degree of malignancy in relation to prognosis prediction, and the choice of therapy. In addition, we propose regarding this type of tumor as a new subtype of mucoepidermoid carcinoma.