Myoepithelial carcinoma is a well-known tumor of salivary gland, representing 1% of all salivary gland tumors. They have also been reported in other sites as skin/soft tissue, breast and lung. This paper reports a rare case of primary myoepithelial carcinoma in the liver, as well as discusses the findings of immunohistochemistry. The clinical manifestations, imaging characteristics, and histopa...

Increasing emphasis has been placed on the role of myoepithelial cells, the contractile components of secretory glands, in the in situ to invasive carcinoma transition. These cells are placed at the interface between luminal epithelial cells and the stromal compartment, which favors their cross-talk with all other cell types comprising the tumor micro-environment. To obtain some clues about thi...

Dedifferentiation is defined as high-grade malignant tumor development out of a low-grade malignant tumor. We present an adenocarcinoma tumor of the parotid gland that was dedifferentiated from a low-grade epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma and was followed up for 3 years. Our patient, a 46-year-old female, presented with a left parotid mass of 20-year duration. Histopathologic results showed t...

Primary epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma of lung is a rare entity and is thought to arise from the submucosal bronchial glands distributed throughout the lower respiratory tract. Because of the rarity of this tumor, we describe one case of epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma arising in the bronchus intermedius and presenting as an endobronchial mass. A 57-year-old male patient presented with a...

A 69-year-old japanese female with epithelial myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) in the parotid gland is reported. The tumor, 3.5 x 4.0 x 1.5 cm in size, was located in the left parotid gland. Histopathological examination of the surgically removed tumor revealed that it was composed of double-layered, tubule-like structures formed by inner eosinophilic ductal cells and outer clear cells, as well as...

PURPOSE This study investigated the functional and clinical significance of integrin αvβ6 upregulation in myoepithelial cells of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Archival samples of DCIS and DCIS with associated invasion (n = 532) were analyzed for expression of αvβ6 by immunohistochemistry and ability to predict recurrence and progression assessed in an independent, uniqu...

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer. Myoepithelial cells are specialized epithelial cells. Basal cell carcinoma with myoepithelial differentiation is a rare tumor. A 71-year-old man with a basal cell carcinoma with myoepithelial differentiation that presented as an asymptomatic red papule of two months duration on his forehead is described. Including the reported patient, this v...

The transition of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to invasive carcinoma is a poorly understood key event in breast tumor progression. Here, we analyzed the role of myoepithelial cells and fibroblasts in the progression of in situ carcinomas using a model of human DCIS and primary breast tumors. Progression to invasion was promoted by fibroblasts and inhibited by normal myoepithelial cells. Mole...

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Myoepithelial carcinoma of soft tissue is extremely rare although its counterpart of the sa...

The signals that determine the correct polarity of breast epithelial structures in vivo are not understood. We have shown previously that luminal epithelial cells can be polarized when cultured within a reconstituted basement membrane gel. We reasoned that such cues in vivo may be given by myoepithelial cells. Accordingly, we used an assay where luminal epithelial cells are incorrectly polarize...