Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lacrimal gland. An oxyphilic variant.

Unlike their major salivary gland counterparts, mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECs) of the lacrimal gland are extraordinarily rare. We report a case of an MEC of the lacrimal gland in which the majority of cells were oxyphilic. The patient, a 38-year-old woman, had been asymptomatic when an enlarged right lacrimal gland was detected. Histologically, the tumor was composed primarily of oxyphilic cells but focally exhibited characteristics diagnostic of MEC. To our knowledge, only two oxyphilic variants of MEC have been reported, and occurrence in the lacrimal gland has not previously been documented. The existence of this lesion is significant because it shares histologic features with oxyphilic adenoma (oncocytoma), a more common and less aggressive neoplasm of the orbit.