Papillary cystic variant of acinic cell carcinoma of parotid with preoperative diagnostic difficulty on fine-needle aspiration cytology: A case report

Acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) is an unusual salivary gland neoplasm with unpredictable behavior. Papillary cystic variant of ACC (PCV-ACC) is even rarer and commonly occurs in the parotid. It has high local recurrence rate and poorer prognosis compared to classic type of ACC. Majority of cases occur in younger age group and exhibit diagnostic difficulty on cytology. Its diagnosis is based on histopathological examination. We report a case of PCV-ACC of the right parotid gland in a 15-year-old female which was misdiagnosed as a benign lesion on cytology emphasizing the importance of histopathological examination in parotid masses. Superficial parotidectomy followed by total parotidectomy was performed in the present case, and the case is under regular follow-up basis for the last 8 months without any disease.