A rare case of plasmacytoid myoepithelioma of hard palate with cyto–histopathological correlation

Myoepitheliomas are rare benign salivary gland tumours almost exclusively composed of cells exhibiting myoepithelial differentiation. These tumours are likely to be underdiagnosed as they are rare and tend to be morphologically diverse Pleomorphic adenoma, basal cell adenoma and myoepithelioma usually lie on a continuum, with many overlapping features. In myoepithelioma the neoplastic myopeithelial cells can be spindly, plasmacytoid hyaline, epitheliod, clear or oncocytic, or combination of the above. Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in such cases may have limited diagnostic value, but nonetheless is important to rule out unsuspected malignancies. We present a case of a forty five year old female with a growth on the hard palate. The aspirates in our case very closely resembled cellular pleomorphic adenoma. However, detailed histopathological examination of the excised specimen along with relevant immunohistochemical markers proved it to be a case of plasmacytoid myoepithelioma. We report this case to highlight the cytological features and differentials of this rare tumour, which can also be confirmed on histopathology.