A double-clear variant of epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid gland

The hallmark of the histology of epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) is the presence of a regular repetitive mixture of bilayered duct-like structures with an outer layer of myoepithelial cells and inner ductal epithelial cells. Clear cell change in the myoepithelial component is common, but clearing of both cell types, giving an impression of a monocellular neoplasm, is rare. A parotid biopsy was received from an 83-year-old male and subject to routine histologic processing for conventional staining and immunohistochemistry. The encapsulated tumour was composed of sheets of PAS/diastase negative clear cells, separated by fibrous septae. The clear myoepithelial cells were positive for S-100 protein, SMA, and p63 and negative for CK19 and surrounded CK19-positive luminal cells. It is important to utilise immunohistochemistry to differentiate this tumour from others with a similar histologic pattern. Information about the behaviour of the double-clear EMC is limited since there are few cases reported.