A Case of the Middle Ear Adenoma

Jun, Byung Hoon; Han, Young Hoon; Yoon, Sang Pil; Park, See Young

Abstract

The middle ear adenoma is a rare neoplasm originating from the lining epithelium of the middle ear mucosa. The first report of a middle ear glandular tumor was published in 1898 by Treitel and since then over 100 cases have been reported. At least 14 different descriptions have been given to these lesions, reflecting the controversies relating to their presumed histogenesis and differentiation. The middle ear adenoma has been often classified into mixed and papillary type by cellular morphology, growing pattern, prognosis, and clinical manifestations. The most common initial symptom was decreased hearing, followed by ear-fullness, otalgia, headache, and otorrhea. Radiologically, the most common finding is a soft tissue mass in the middle ear. In this study, we present a case of the middle ear adenoma of the patient complaining hearing difficulty and otorrhea, which was diagnosed by histopathologic finding, and then discuss the current approach to this tumor with a review of literature.