Submandibular endodermal sinus (yolk sac) tumor in a female infant. A case report

Primary sarcomas of the salivary glands: case series and literature review

BACKGROUND

Mesenchymal malignancies of salivary origin are rare and are histologically diverse. We reviewed our experience with these tumors, as well as the published literature, with an emphasis on treatment modalities and prognosis.

METHODS

We identified 17 patients treated for malignant mesenchymal cell tumors at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1990 and 2007. We compared our results to the literature from January 1990 to July 2010.

RESULTS

Tumors were located primarily in the parotid gland and were primarily T1 tumors (<5 cm). All patients were treated with surgical resection, and 13 patients were given adjuvant therapy. Seven patients (41%) had recurrence, and 4 developed distant metastases. The overall 5-year and 10-year survival rates were 42% and 20%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our case series and literature review show that sarcomas of the salivary glands have a high rate of recurrence and are associated with a poor prognosis.

Yolk sac tumor in the nasal cavity

Yolk sac carcinoma (YST) is rare malignant tumor of germ cell origin. It most commonly arises from the gonads but extragonadal sites of origin are reported in 20% of the cases. Head and neck germ cell tumors are uncommon and only a small number are malignant. We present the case of a 48 years old man presenting with a YST of the sinonasal tract and the arterior skull base. The patient underwent an anterior craniofacial resection and postoperative radiotherapy and continues showing no evidence of disease seven years after treatment. We discuss radiological and histological features of this tumor and provide a review of three other cases of YST arising in children.

Endodermal sinus (yolk sac) tumor of oral cavity originating from gingiva

Endodermal sinus tumor is a malignant germ cell tumor which usually arises in gonads. Extragonadal endodermal sinus tumors in the head and neck are very rare. Here a gingival endodermal sinus tumor is reported. The lesion demonstrated typical microscopic features of the endodermal sinus tumors of gonads. The tumor cells showed alpha-fetoprotein immunoreactivity in immunohistochemical evaluation. The serum alpha-fetoprotein level was high. This is the first gingival case in the related literature.

Yolk sac tumors (endodermal sinus tumors) of the extracranial head and neck regions

Yolk sac tumors (or endodermal sinus tumors) are rare neoplasms of germ cell origin that have been reported in gonadal sites (testis and ovary). Extragonadal yolk sac tumors are uncommonly seen, and in particular, they are rare in the extracranial head and neck regions; we found 27 well-documented cases in the English-language literature. We discuss their clinical and pathologic features.