Oral and maxillofacial pathology
Sialolipoma: Report of two cases and review of the literature

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Sialolipoma is a new variant of salivary gland lipoma first described in 2001. We present 2 cases of sialolipoma involving the soft palate and buccal mucosa of 2 female patients. A review of the English language literature revealed 16 cases of sialolipoma reported thus far. We have reviewed the clinicopathologic features of the literature cases and are adding the present 2 cases for a total of 18 cases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of sialolipoma involving the buccal mucosa and the second case in the soft palate. The purpose of this publication is to increase awareness of this recently described variant of lipoma and to address the diagnostic challenges posed both clinically and histopathologically.

Section snippets

Case 1

An 84-year-old female presented to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon for evaluation of a mass on her left buccal mucosa. Clinical examination revealed a mass measuring 1.0 x 1.0 cm on the left buccal mucosa. Excisional biopsy was performed and sent to the oral and maxillofacial pathology laboratory at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. The clinical impression was that of a minor salivary gland tumor—either a pleomorphic adenoma or possibly a low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Histopathologic

Discussion

Although lipoma is a common soft tissue tumor, it rarely occurs in the salivary glands.1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 The sialolipoma is believed to be a lipoma with secondary entrapment of normal salivary gland elements.1 Nagao et al.1 examined 2051 cases of salivary gland tumors and found the incidence of conventional lipoma and sialolipoma to be 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.1

In the breast, thyroid, parathyroid, skin, and thymus, tumors exhibiting a well-circumscribed mass composed of lipomatous elements

Conclusion

Sialolipomas are lipomas containing secondary entrapment of normal salivary gland acini and ducts.1 They can be differentiated from conventional lipomas microscopically because they contain entrapped normal salivary gland elements. Sialolipomas share similar clinical features with conventional lipomas of the salivary glands (e.g., the patients’ wide age range, a male predominance, and the presence of a slow-growing symptom-free mass).1, 6, 7 The clinical impression, in most cases of

References (23)

  • T. Nagao et al.

    Sialolipoma: a report of seven cases of a new variant of salivary gland lipoma

    Histopathology

    (2001)
  • Cited by (23)

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      Some cases of sclerosing polycystic adenosis, a recently described entity, may present a prominent lipomatous stroma [27]. According to Ramer et al [6], sclerosing polycystic adenosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of sialolipomas, particularly when sampling adequacy is less than optimal. In contrast to sclerosing polycystic adenosis, no proliferation of ductal or acinar cells is observed in sialolipomas [6].

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      2009, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontology
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      The Ki-67 labeling index (LI) of sialolipoma, palatal gland, and pleomorphic adenoma was 1.27 (SD, 0.42), 1.42 (SD, 0.61), and 4.86 (SD, 2.87), respectively. Although lipoma is a common soft tissue tumor, oral lipoma, especially salivary gland lipoma, is rare.1,3 Lipoma in the salivary glands accounts for less than 0.5% of all parotid gland tumors, and several distinct histological variants, such as angiolipoma, fibrolipoma, pleomorphic lipoma, and spindle-cell lipoma, have been documented.

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      2008, British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
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      In 2001 Nagao et al. proposed the term “sialolipoma” to describe a distinct type of lipoma of the salivary gland that is composed of mature adipocytes and normal salivary gland tissue.1 We have been able to find only 17 similar case reports of this rare tumour in the English language.2–9 A 77-year-old woman was referred to our unit for investigation of a painless swelling in the right submandibular region that had been present for some months.

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