Salivary glands: report of a rare case of myoepithelial carcinoma involving tongue base treated by CO 2 Laser Ghiandole salivari: case report di un raro caso di carcinoma mioepiteliale della base della lingua trattato con il laser a CO 2

SUMMARY Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma is a rare malignant tumour of the salivary glands. Herewith, the clinical evolution, anatomo-pathological characteristics and treatment adopted are described in a case occurring in the minor salivary glands of the tongue base. To our knowledge, this location has not been previously described in the literature. In fact, due to the rarity of the epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma, there is no uniformity of data in the literature and very different therapeutic strategies have been suggested. In this report, the possibility of applying conservative surgery using CO 2 Laser is proposed. Results obtained in the case described confi rm that conservative surgery is feasible in this type of neoplastic lesion of the tongue.