Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma arising from the base of the tongue

Abstract

Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma is a low-grade indolent and rare salivary gland tumor originally described by Milchgrub et al. in 1994. We herein report a case of this tumor of the base of the tongue. A 66-year-old Japanese woman presented with a large painless mass in the throat. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 40x30-mm well-defined ovoid tumor arising from the base of the tongue. She underwent tracheostomy followed by a resection of the tumor via the transmandibular approach combined with a right-sided supra-omohyoid neck dissection. Because the tumor invasion of the surrounding tissue was limited, the surgical defect at the base of the tongue was relatively small, and no reconstructive procedure needed to be performed. The tumor was histopathologically diagnosed as hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma of the minor salivary gland. Her postoperative clinical course was uneventful. No aspiration or difficulty upon deglutition was recognized when she started transoral ingestion on the eighth postoperative day. The patient is currently free from disease 21 months after surgery. The pathology, clinical characteristics, and treatment of hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma are bibliographically reviewed.

Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma of the head and neck: Case series and update

“…Our review of the literature revealed 130 cases of HCCC among 48 articles . We did exclude a number of articles that have been reported by others to represent HCCC but, in our view, did not provide sufficient histologic description to confirm the diagnosis .…”

Reappraising hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma: A population‐based study with molecular confirmation

“…Of 153 patients with some form of clinical data reported or available, 144 underwent primary surgical resection. Lymph node dissection was reported in 26 cases, with positive nodes in 13 . Neck dissection, where specified, was usually unilateral, and limited to supraomohyoid levels I to III.…”

Hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma

“…The clinical and pathologic features of the 44 published patients with HCCC who we identified in our review of the literature are summarized in Table 3 1, 3–26. Thirty‐one tumors (72%) occurred in women, 12 tumors (28%) occurred in men, and, in 1 tumor, the sex of the patient was not stated.…”