Mammary Lobular Carcinoma-Like Salivary Gland Carcinoma: Report of a Rare Case

Head Neck Pathol. 2022 Mar;16(1):314-321. doi: 10.1007/s12105-021-01344-2. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Abstract

Salivary and mammary glands are both exocrine organs sharing multiple tumorigenic processes. To the best of our knowledge, salivary gland tumors mimicking invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast have not yet been described. Herein, we report a case of a 62-year-old male who presented with progressive facial paralysis. Pathologic examination revealed an ill-defined epithelial neoplasm exhibiting discohesive growth set within an extensively fibrotic stroma. Both perineural and intraneural invasion were present. E-cadherin and p120 immunostaining showed aberrant cytoplasmic expression. Targeted next-generation sequencing detected a frameshift mutation of the CTNNA1 gene as the only known pathogenic variant. The patient was treated with surgical resection, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. Currently, he is alive with disease twenty months after disease onset.

Keywords: Breast; CTNNA1; Cadherins; Lobular carcinoma; Salivary duct carcinoma; Salivary glands.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Cadherins
  • Carcinoma, Lobular* / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Lobular* / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Lobular* / pathology
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Salivary Gland Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Salivary Gland Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Salivary Glands / metabolism
  • Salivary Glands / pathology

Substances

  • Cadherins