EPITHELIAL-MYOEPITHELIAL CARCINOMA OF THE PAROTID-GLAND - AN UNUSUAL CAUSE OF EAR CANAL STENOSIS

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) accounts for approximately on e per cent of salivary gland tumours. This tumour is gaining wider rec ognition following inclusion into the WHO histological classification of salivary gland rumours in 1990. Salivary gland tumours characterist ically present with an enlarging mass. We describe an unusual presenta tion of a salivary gland tumour with stenosis of the external ear cana l in the absence of a palpable mass. EMC usually arises from the saliv ary glands but isolated cases have been described arising primarily fr om the paranasal sinuses, trachea and lacrimal gland. The management o f this tumour is still evolving with surgical excision being the main- stay of treatment. The efficacy of radiotherapy has not yet been estab lished but high local recurrence rates despite apparently adequate exc ision and the possibility of a multicentric origin of the tumour may h erald an increasing role for radiotherapy in the future. We stress the . importance of awareness of adjacent structures when considering the cause of cartilaginous canal stenosis.