Primary carcinosarcoma of the parotid gland mimicking as parotid abscess with deep neck infection

Carcinosarcoma, true malignant mixed tumor, of the parotid is an extremely rare tumor. Pathologically, it is composed of malignant epithelial and malignant mesenchymal elements. The carcinosarcoma of the salivary glands comprised only 0.04% to 0.16% of all malignant salivary tumors with 65% occurring in the parotid gland. This tumor has an aggressive characteristic and is often regarded as a high-grade tumor with distant metastasis occurring in 54% of the patients. Patients usually present between 60 and 65 years of age and most series report no sex predominance. Radiologically, this tumor has a low attenuation center with a thickenhancing wall and can be misdiagnosed deep neck infection in the parapharyngeal space. In this report, the authors report a patient of true malignant mixed tumor of the parotid gland mimicking as deep neck infection. Radiologic and histologic features including immunohistochemical results are discussed.