Primary osteosarcoma of the parotid gland: A case report and literature review

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma is a rare soft tissue, high grade malignant mesenchymal neoplasm. It accounts for 1%-2% of all soft tissue sarcomas and 2%-4% of all osteosarcomas. While conventional osteosarcoma of the bone usually occurs in children and adolescents, extraskeletal osteosarcoma is more often seen in mid to late adulthood. The most common sites of this tumor are thigh and buttock. The tumor has a very poor prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of less than 25%. Only 5 cases of primary osteosarcoma have been reported in the parotid gland. We report a case of primary osteosarcoma of the parotid gland in a 68-year-old man. The clinical, radiographic and pathologic features of the tumor are discussed. Despite the very low survival rate of the tumor, our patient was disease free 41 months post surgery.