Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma in Chinese population: a clinicopathological and radiological analysis.

BACKGROUND Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma (PMEC) is a rare malignant neoplasm with remarkable resemblance to mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the salivary glands. It constitutes a unique set of patient population. In this study we briefly discussed the current state of knowledge of PMEC and described the clinical presentation and management of 27 PMEC cases. This study aimed to discuss the utility of surgical treatment in the patients with pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma. METHODS We retrospectively studied 27 cases with the diagnosis of PMEC, divided into low grade and high grade based on histopathological characteristics. The clinical symptoms, radiological manifestations, pathological characteristics, treatment strategy and prognosis were systemically analyzed. RESULTS The tumor could occur in any lobe of the lungs. The treatment included surgical intervention and/or adjuvant therapies. While the sex-age distribution and initial staging was not different between low- and high- grade PMEC, the disease control rate (95%) and 5 year survival (95%) were much higher in low-grade PMEC than the high-grade cases (57.1% and 42.9%, respectively). CONCLUSION The clinical, radiographical and pathological features of PMECs were systemically analyzed and summarized, and the utility of pathological grading system as the independent prognostic factor in addition to clinical staging was confirmed.