I125 brachytherapy for central adenoid cystic carcinoma of the mandible

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a malignant tumor of the major and minor salivary glands. It is rarely found in the jaw. We described a case of central adenocarcinoma arising from the mandible of a 76-year -old woman. Computed tomography (CT) revealed bone involvement in the right mandible. CT-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) was performed, finding a poorly-differentiated adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the mandible. Due to her poor condition and her refusal of surgery, we performed permanent implantation of I125seeds. After brachytherapy, the tumor went into partial remission and new bone formed in three months. To our knowledge, this is the first case of central ACC of the mandible treated with I125 brachytherapy. We reviewed previous English-language reports on the ACC in the mandible. We can only speculate as to why this patient's ACC responded so quickly and new bone formed in a short period of time after brachytherapy.