Squamous cell carcinoma in the submandibular space

A 66-year-old man visited author's institute complaining of the swelling on the submandibular gland area. Clinically, the exophytic mass penetrated the skin of the submandibular area. On MRI, the lesion occupied the left submandibular space and extended downward, protruding exterior to the subcutaneous fat layer, but the center of the lesion was located on the side of the skin and the growth exterior to the skin was prominent. Demarcation of the lesion and the submandibular gland was unclear. Histopathologically the epithelial nests and keratin production were seen, then the biopsy result was squamous cell carcinoma. The stroma of lesion showed a myxoid characteristic and some ducts showed metaplasia of the ductal cells, which suggested the gland-origin carcinoma. However, lots of keratin production and carcinomatous change of cells continuous to the normal epithelium of the skin, the skin-origin carcinoma invading into the submandibular gland area could not be excluded