A Case of Ceruminous Adenocarcinoma Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) in the External Auditory Canal.

External auditory canal cancer is a rare disease which can be treated by surgery or chemoradiation. The most common histological type is squamous cell carcinoma, but rare types such as adenocarcinoma have been reported and are thought to be derived from the ceruminous glands. Here, we present a case of ceruminous adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified (NOS) in the external auditory canal. A 72-year-old woman was referred to our department with discomfort due to a mass in the external ear canal. No typical symptoms of malignancy, such as pain or bleeding, were noted at the initial examination. The patient underwent a total excision under local anesthesia as a diagnostic treatment. She was diagnosed with ceruminous adenocarcinoma, NOS based on the results of immunostaining of the excised specimen, and is currently being followed up as an outpatient. Adenocarcinoma is thought to originate from the cerumen glands of the ear canal and the lack of specific symptoms may make it difficult to differentiate it from benign tumors. Although adenocarcinoma, NOS has been reported in the head and neck region, there have been no reported cases occurring in the external ear canal, and to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report.