Successful treatment of bronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma by bronchoplasty

A 63-year-old man who was pointed out abnormal shadow on chest X-ray admitted to our hospital. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed a tumor originated from right upper bronchus and grew into right main bronchus. The tumor was diagnosed as mucoepidermoid carcinoma by bronchoscopic biopsy. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) showed abnormal uptake localized at the tumor. The standardized uptake values of the tumor 60 minutes after injection were 2.86, and 120 minutes after injection, it increased to 3.97. Right upper lobectomy with bronchoplasty by deep wedge resection of right main bronchus at the orifice of right upper bronchus and lymphadenectomy was performed. Pathological diagnosis was high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma without lymph nodes metastasis which was compatible with FDG-PET. Postoperative course was uneventful.     

Primary mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the trachea in a child

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the trachea is a rare tumour, especially in the paediatric population. We report the case of a 9-year-old boy with mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the trachea that was preoperatively diagnosed as an intraluminal polypoid mass arising from the trachea and extending into the right main bronchus. A complete resection of the tumour with reconstruction and end-to-end anastomosis of the trachea was performed. The patient is now, 24 months after surgery, free of disease.     

A case of bronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma in a 8-year-old child treated with right upper sleeve lobectomy

A 8-year-old boy was admitted to our hospital with complaint of cough and abnormal shadow on chest X-ray. Bronchoscopy and biopsy revealed a bronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma, which obstructed right main bronchus. Right upper sleeve lobectomy was performed. The histological examination revealed a low grade malignant mucoepidermoid carcinoma. There were no metastases in the mediastinal lymph nodes. He has been healthy with no evidence of recurrence during 4 years after operation.     

Successful treatment of bronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma in an 11-year-old boy by bronchoplasty: Report of a case

We report herein the rare case of an 11-year-old boy in whom mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the right upper lobe bronchus was successfully treated by bronchoplasty. The patient underwent bronchoscopy to investigate the cause of relapsing respiratory infections over the past 2 years, which revealed a tumor at the orifice of the right upper lobe bronchus. Thus, a right upper sleeve lobectomy was effectively carried out, preserving right pulmonary function. The tumor was observed to partially invade the bronchial wall, but not the lung parenchyma. Histological examination confirmed a diagnosis of mucoepidermoid carcinoma, classified as grade 2 by Conlan's classification. The patient has been well and free of recurrence for 3 years postoperatively.     

Successful treatment of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the carina

We successfully treated a 33-year-old man with mucoepidermoid carcinoma at the carina. Through preoperative spiral computed tomography with multiplanar and three-dimensional reconstructions, the lesion extended along the right main bronchus across the orifice of the right upper lobe. He underwent a carinal resection plus right upper lobectomy and reconstruction of the carina. He shows neither anastomotic complication nor recurrence of disease 1 year after surgery. Spiral computed tomography was used to evaluate the preoperative and postoperative state of the central airway.     

3 cases of mucoepidermoid bronchial malignant tumors

Mucoepidermoid tumors of the lung are extremely uncommon. Like the considerably more common mucoepidermoid tumors of the salivary glands, their histology is characterized by two components: a glandular mucoid element and an epidermoid element. The degree of malignancy is still a subject of discussion, but as with mucoepidermoid tumors of the salivary glands, mucoepidermoid carcinomas of the bronchus may be of either high or low-grade malignancy. The three cases reported here were of high-grade malignancy and metastasized irrespective of the degree of cellular differenciation. We have concluded that mucoepidermoid lung tumors should be considered as malignant lesions and the treatment has to consist in radical resection.