Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Submandibular Gland in a 6yr Old Boy

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is a malignant neoplasms of the salivary glands which is rarely found in childhood. Its incidence rate has been reported to be 0.44 per 100,000.1 Most of them arise from the parotid gland (64 – 80%) while other locations that are less frequent include submandibular gland, sublingual gland, minor salivary glands and lacrimal gland.2 Submandibular gland cancer is extremely rare in childhood.3 MEC however is the most common malignant neoplasm of the salivary glands arising from the excretory ducts.4 At diagnosis MEC shows distant metastasis in less than 5% of cases, lungs being the commonest site.5 Skin metastasis at diagnosis are exceptional event in high grade MEC of the salivary gland.5 The main therapeutic method in treatment of MEC like in most salivary gland malignancy is surgical resection.6 According to the literature, clinical stage, histologic grading and surgery margin status significantly correlated with the prognosis of MEC7. In addition, some investigators reported that gender, age at presentation and primary site were also closely related to the survival of patients with MEC.7,8 In the present paper we describe a case of a submandibular gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma in a 6-year old boy. MUCOEPIDERMOID CARCINOMA OF THE SUBMANDIBULAR GLAND IN A 6YR OLD BOY