A case report of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the sublingual salivary gland.

Of the tumors that occur in the salivary gland, very few onset in the sublingual gland. However, if it does occur in the sublingualgland, a high rate of malignancy of the tumor is most likely. Adenoid cystic carcinoma is believed to be a more common type of malignant tumor occurring in the sublingual gland, but there have been very few detailed reports on this disease as the primary cancer of the sublingual gland, probably due to the small number of cases and difficulty in differentiating this tumor from the primary tumor of minor salivary glands. We report here our findings together with some discussion on a case of adenoid cystic carcinoma occurring as the primary cancer of the sublingual gland which we encountered clinically.The subject is a 48-year-old female, seen at our department with the chief complaint of swelling in the left floor of the mouth. As a result of resection of the swelling partly for biopsy, it was found to be adenoid cystic carcinoma histopathologically. Partial neck dissection, extensive resection of the floor of the mouth and partial resection of the tongue followed. Chemotherapy was initiated postoperatively but radiation therapy was not undertaken as no tumor was detected at the edge of the resected tissues. 4-years have passed to date and the clinical course of this case is favorable, as no recurrence or metastasis has been observed. However, due to the nature of this tumor, we feel that adequate follow up the patient should be continued.