Recurring Clear Cell Odontogenic Carcinoma Involving Vertebra and Pleura: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma is a rare malignancy, which is vary in behavior from indolent tumor to cases with frequent recurrence and rare metastasis. In this manuscript, we report a case of clear cell odontogenic carcinoma of right lower mandible with cervical lymph node metastasis in a 50-year-old female. The tumor recurred and metastasized to vertebra and pleura after adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy, and the patient died of the disease 29 months after diagnosis. Pathologically, the tumor was composed of epithelial nests dominated by clear cells with ameloblastoma-like pattern and biphasic pattern. The tumor cells showed strong positive for AE1/AE3, KRT19, KRT5/6, P63, focal positive for KRT7, and weak positive for MUC1. Molecularly, EWSR1::ATF1 gene fusion was identified. To our knowledge, this report describes the first case of metastasis of clear cell odontogenic carcinoma involving regional lymph nodes and distant pleural and vertebral areas, demonstrating an aggressive clinical course of clear cell odontogenic carcinoma.