Epidermal Cyst of Parotid Gland: A Rarity and a Diagnostic Dilemma

Abstract

Epidermal cysts are common skin lesions but they occur very rarely in the oral cavity, especially in the salivary glands. Very few cases have been reported in the literature and, here, we present one such rare case of epidermal cyst in the right parotid gland in a 62-year-old female patient.

A rare case of an epidermoid cyst of the parotid gland, from a radiologist perspective

“…However, their occurrence in the parotid gland is particularly rare. They affect both sexes equally and usually appear after puberty, most commonly between 16 and 35 years of age [2] .…”

“…Mostly formed in the skin, epidermoid cysts are benign lesions that develop from ectodermal tissue and consist histologically of a thin layer of squamous epithelium [1] . They have numerous synonyms and are also referred to as epidermal cysts, epidermal inclusion cysts, infundibular cysts, and keratinous cysts [2] . Their presence in the parotid gland is very rare as only few case reports have been published.…”

Quiste epidermoide en región parotídea. Reporte de caso y revisión de la literatura

“…El quiste epidermoide del caso clínico actual se encontraba en planos anatómicos superficiales sin involucrar el parénquima de la glándula parótida, sin embargo, Ganesan et al 31 en el año 2015 describe un estudio llevado a cabo durante 25 años sobre quistes epidermoides en donde solo se reportó 1 en la glándula parótida y 3 en la glándula submandibular. Los quistes epidermoides representan el 5% de los tumores en la glándula parótida 32 y 12,7% en el área preauricular 3 .…”

“…Existen pocos reportes sobre quistes epidermoides en la región parotídea y por lo general se atribuyen a inclusión epitelial, son de crecimiento lento e indoloro y presentan poca recidiva ante la resección quirúrgica 2,31,32 .…”

Persistent bleeding following biopsy of an epidermoid cyst within the parotid gland

“…Occasionally, epidermoid cysts can arise in body tissues other than skin, including intracranially, and in very rare cases within glandular tissue such as the parotid or submandibular glands 8. Only a few case reports have been published to date describing epidermoid cysts of the parotid gland, most of which were iatrogenic 3 9–11. Due to the extremely low incidence, epidermoid cysts within the parotid gland can pose a diagnostic dilemma as they must be differentiated from other neoplastic lesions of the parotid such as benign mixed tumours, Warthin’s tumours and malignant salivary gland tumours 12…”