Primary intraosseous (central) salivary gland neoplasms in jaw bones: report of a mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology.

A case of intraosseous (central) mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, with the diagnosis confirmed by surgical resection of the tumor is presented. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is the most common histotype of malignant and benign salivary gland tumors, which occasionally arise within the facial bones of mandible and maxilla, besides their ordinary derivation from the major and minor salivary glands of the head and neck regions. This case is unusual in that although tumors of the jaws abound, only rare reports of intraosseous salivary gland-type lesions sampled by FNA exist. The current concepts exploring the intraosseous derivation of salivary gland tumors are presented and certain points on FNA technic for adequate sampling of such lesions are related. 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.