Unilateral hyperlucency with left lower lobe mass in a patient with bronchial asthma

Childhood and adolescent tracheobronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC): a case-series and review of the literature

Tracheobronchial mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC) are rare in the pediatric population with literature limited primarily to case reports. Here we present our institutional experience treating MEC in three patients and review the literature of 142 pediatric cases previously published from 1968 to 2013. Although rare, tracheobronchial MEC should be included in the differential diagnosis in a child with recurrent respiratory symptoms. Conservative surgical management is often sufficient to achieve complete resection and good outcomes.

Clinicopathological analysis of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma

Background

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the lung is a rare malignant neoplasm. We aimed to investigate clinicopathological features, therapies, and prognoses of eight MEC cases.

Methods

Eight patients underwent surgical treatment for pulmonary MEC between 2005 and 2012 at the Thoracic Surgical Department of West China Hospital, Sichuan, China. The clinical data, radiological manifestation, treatment strategy, pathological findings, and prognoses of all patients were analyzed retrospectively.

Results

Among the eight cases (four males and four females), the age of patients ranged from 35 to 71 years (mean age 50.67 years). Two tumors were located in the upper lobes and three masses were located in the lower lobes. The other three lumps were located in the left main bronchus, middle segmental bronchus of the right lobe, and trachea, respectively. The characteristics of the tumors were consistent with low grade MEC (n = 6) and high grade MEC (n = 2). All of the patients were sent for oncological evaluations, and three patients with N1 or N2 disease received chemotherapy. One of the patients died from brain metastasis at 15 months. Seven of the eight patients were alive at the time of evaluation. The median survival time was 40 (range 8 to 88) months.

Conclusion

Mucoepidermoid tumors have to be treated by radical surgery with lymph node sampling and dissection. Patients with low grade tumors can be expected to be cured following complete resection. Careful histological typing plays a key role in prediction of late results, and further studies are needed.

Bronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma: an unusual cause of complex cystic lung mass in a young man

Bronchial mucopeidermoid carcinoma is extremely rare, with an incidence of 0.1 to 0.2% of all primary lung tumors. It usually presents as an endobronchial mass with either partial or total occlusion of the airway lumen. Common clinical presentations are hemoptysis, airway obstruction, and recurrent atelectasis or pneumonia. We present a 27-year-old man who complained of chronic cough as a result of bronchial mucopeidermoid carcinoma with resultant obstructive lung changes.

Video-assisted sleeve lobectomy for mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the left lower lobar bronchus: a case report

We report what we believe to be the first case of video-assisted sleeve lobectomy in an adolescent girl who had experienced recurrent episodes of lobar pneumonia and received a diagnosis of low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the left lower lobar bronchus.

Mucoepidermoid bronchial tumors: a review of 34 operated cases

OBJECTIVE

Pulmonary mucoepidermoid tumors are commonly included with adenoid cystic carcinoma and carcinoid tumors under the misleading rubric 'bronchial adenomas'. These neoplasms are extremely rare and little is known about their oncologic behaviour. They are considered to be of high, or low malignancy.

METHODS

During a 16-year-period 34 consecutive patients (24 male and 10 female with an average age of 53 years) underwent surgery for pulmonary mucoepidermoids in our clinic (0.5% of all resected lung tumors). Fourteen patients were complaint free, in the others obstructive symptoms dominated. In 23 patients the tumors were located in the upper lobes. In 24 cases lobectomy, in four instances limited resection and in six cases pneumonectomy were performed without hospital mortality.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine tumors proved to be high grade and five low grade malignancy by histology. In the latest group the 5-year-survival amounted to 80% (all of these tumors were observed in stage T1-2 N0), on the other hand, however, that rate accounted only 31% at high grade malignant mucoepidermoids. There was no 5-year-survivor among patients having N2-disease (n=5).

CONCLUSION

Mucoepidermoid tumors have to be treated by radical surgery with lymph node sampling and dissection. Patients with low grade tumors can be expected to be cured following complete resection, on the other hand, however, in cases of high grade malignant neoplasms surgery results in significantly worse prognosis. Careful histological typing plays a key role in prediction of late results.