Plasmacytoid Myoepithelioma of the Palate: A Rare Case Report
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21276/apalm.3828Keywords:
myoepithelioma, plasmacytoid variant, palate, minor salivary gland, case reportAbstract
Myoepithelioma is a rare benign salivary gland neoplasm accounting for less than 1% of all salivary gland tumors. The plasmacytoid variant shows a predilection for minor salivary glands, particularly the palate. We report a case of plasmacytoid myoepithelioma of the hard palate in a 25-year-old male, detected incidentally during dental evaluation. The diagnosis was established on histopathological examination and confirmed by immunohistochemistry demonstrating myoepithelial differentiation. Complete surgical excision was performed, and no recurrence was observed during 6- and 12-month follow-up. This case highlights the importance of considering myoepithelioma in the differential diagnosis of palatal masses and emphasizes the role of histopathology and immunohistochemistry in achieving an accurate diagnosis.References
1. World Health Organization. WHO classification of head and neck tumours. 5th ed. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2024.
2. Ellis GL, Auclair PL. Tumors of the Salivary Glands. AFIP Atlas of Tumor Pathology. Washington DC: Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; 2008.
3. Dardick I. Myoepithelioma: definitions and diagnostic criteria. Ultrastruct Pathol. 1995;19:335–345.
4. Sheldon WH. So-called mixed tumors of the salivary glands. Arch Pathol. 1943;35:1–20.
5. Seifert G, Sobin LH. The World Health Organization's histological classification of salivary gland tumors. Cancer. 1992;70:379–385.
6. Nagao T, Sugano I, Ishida Y, et al. Salivary gland myoepithelioma: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 10 cases. Cancer. 1998;83:1292–1299.
7. Savera AT, Sloman A, Huvos AG, Klimstra DS. Myoepithelioma of the salivary glands: a clinicopathologic study of 25 patients. Am J Surg Pathol. 2000;24:761–774.
8. Raut V, Sinnathuray AR, McLean NR. Myoepithelioma of the salivary glands. Br J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2003;41:185–190.
9. Prasad AR, Savera AT, Gown AM, Zarbo RJ. The myoepithelial cell in salivary gland neoplasia: an immunohistochemical study. Mod Pathol. 1999;12:645–652.
10. Bhardwaj S, Krishnan M, Kumar MPS, Murugan PS, Gheena S. Myoepithelioma of the palatal minor salivary gland: a case report. Cureus. 2024;16(3):e56305.
11. Patankar S, Sharma R, Patankar A, Kulkarni V. Rare case of giant myoepithelioma in minor salivary glands of palate in a 9-year-old child. National Journal of Maxillofacial Surgery. 2021 May 1;12(2):284-8.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Shujaat Khan, Vinod Raghava, Sunil Arora, Shahnaz Parveen, Varun Singla, Dipiya Tikoo, Harman Bains

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access at http://opcit.eprints.org/oacitation-biblio.html).

