CARCINOSARCOMA OF THE SUBMANDIBULAR-GLAND

Salivary gland carcinosarcoma is a rare neoplasm, with a poor prognosi s, that should not be confused with the more common carcinoma ex-pleom orphic adenoma, in which the epithelial component alone is malignant. The authors report one case of carcinosarcoma of the submandibular gla nd, with no previous history of pre-existent tumor. The tumor exhibite d two intermingled and very atypical cellular components, one undiffer entiated and the other with a chondroid pattern. Immunostaining with e pithelial markers in the undifferentiated area allowed to distinguish this tumor from salivary gland sarcomas. In addition, the positivity S or EMA, vimentin, and S100 protein in the two predominent components s uggested a common origin Sor the different tumoral cell types, and led to discuss the nomenclature and the still unclarified cellular origin of these tumors.