Mucoepidermoid carcinoma

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma 

Updated: 03/01/2021

© Jun Wang, MD, PhD

General features
  • Most common malignant tumor in salivary glands
  • Most common radiation associated neoplasm 
  • More common in parotid glands
  • May occur age
  • Low grade or high grade
  • Poor prognostic factors: Older age, male, submandibular gland, extraglandular extension, vascular invasion, necrosis, high mitotic rate, high histologic grade
Clinical features
  • Painless slowly growing mass
  • Abnormal sensation may present
Pathological features
  • Infiltrating growth
  • Four cell types: Mucinous, squamous, intermediate and clear cells
  • Low grade: More mucinous and intermediate cells with bland nuclei form glandular spaces
  • High grade: Solid and infiltrative growth pattern of atypical squamous, intermediate and clear cells
  • Intermediate cells: cells with differentiation between mucinous and epidermoid/squamous cells
  • Mucinous cells: Positive for mucin stain
Genetic abnormality
  • MECT1-MAML2 fusion gene t(11;19) (q21;p13), associated with better prognosis
Management
  • Surgery
  • Radiation


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