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The authors present a case of oncocytoma of the nasal cavity in a 60-year-old woman. The tumour shows the same histological and ultrastructural characteristics of oncocytomas arising in minor salivary glands of other sites and major salivary glands. The authors stress that the biological behaviour of oncocytomas of the nasal cavity seems related to their local growth rather than to the cytological characteristics of the tumour. The extreme rarity of this tumour in the nasal cavity is particularly emphasized. The few cases reported previously in literature are briefly reviewed.

The onset of oncocytic neoplasms in the ocular area is exceptional. A rare case of oxyphil cell adenoma of the lacrimal caruncle in an 81-year-old woman is presented. The anatomo-clinical profile of this benign small tumor is drawn up: a slowly growing tumor, generally occurring in the caruncle of elderly women, which is characterized by a uniform population of epithelial cells with eosinophilic finely-granular cytoplasm containing large numbers of mitochondria. The histogenetic problem of this tumor is briefly discussed.