Value of fine-needle aspiration biopsy in initial evaluation of floor of the mouth masses: report of a case of low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma (LG MEC) is a rare tumor which can occur in the minor salivary glands as intraoral lesion, more frequently in the palate and very rarely in the floor of the mouth. Traditionally, the diagnosis has been made on surgical resection specimens only. There is new growing evidence that these lesions can be accurately diagnosed by a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy procedure. In this article, we report a case of LG MEC of the floor of mouth diagnosed by FNA and confirmed by subsequent surgical resection. We also provide clues for high index of suspicion for these rare lesions, both clinically and morphologically. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010; 38:81-84. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.