Juvenile pleomorphic adenoma of the cheek: a case report and review of literature

Pleomorphic adenomas are benign salivary gland tumors that represent about 3- 10% of the neoplasm of the head and neck region [1]. They are the most common tumors (50%) of the major and minor salivary glands [2]. The palate is considered as the most common intraoral site (42.8-68.8%), followed by the upper lip (10.1%) and cheek (5.5%) [3-5]. Other rare sites include the throat (2.5%), retromolar region (0.7%), floor of the mouth and the alveolar mucosa [4]. Pleomorphic adenoma usually presents as a mobile slowly growing, painless firm swelling that does not cause ulceration of the overlying mucosa [6].Pleomorphic adenoma consists of cells with epithelial and mesenchymal differentiation (mixed tumor). The highly variable morphology of this neoplasm is the result of interplay between these elements. Now it is widely accepted that both epithelial and mesenchymal (myxoid, hyaline, chondroid, osseous) elements often arise from same cell clone, which may be a myoepithelial or ductal reserve cell. There is no difference in behavior of this neoplasm based on proportion of various elements [7]. Lee et al examined formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues from 13 pleomorphic adenomas of female patients. They used the polymerase chain reaction (HUMRA assay). HUMARA, the human androgen receptor gene, is located on the X chromosome and contains a segment of polymorphic CAG tandem repeats in exon 1. Several methylation-sensitive HhaI restriction sites are located 5' to these CAG repeats. It is an ideal tool to study clonality of female tissues by examining the methylation pattern. A monoclonal pattern was seen in the stromal, epithelial elements in the majority of cases. These findings suggest that the stromal and epithelial cells in pleomorphic adenomas of salivary gland arise from the same clone in most cases [7]. Variants of pleomorphic adenoma include pleomorphic adenoma with lipomatous change [8], myxoliopmatous pleomorphic adenoma, pleomorphic adenoma with squamous differen