U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma

MedGen UID:
61662
•Concept ID:
C0206694
•
Neoplastic Process
Synonyms: Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid; Carcinomas, Mucoepidermoid; Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma; Mucoepidermoid Carcinomas
SNOMED CT: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (4079000)
 
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0003036

Definition

A carcinoma morphologically characterized the presence of cuboidal mucous cells, goblet-like mucous cells, squamoid cells, cystic changes, and a fibrotic stromal formation. It can occur in several anatomic sites, including parotid gland, oral cavity, paranasal sinus, skin, breast, lung, larynx, and lacrimal ducts. It is classified as low or high grade. [from NCI]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVMucoepidermoid carcinoma

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Oncocytoid Salivary Tumors: Differential Diagnosis and Utility of Newly Described Immunohistochemistry.
Katabi N
Head Neck Pathol 2024 Mar 19;18(1):20. doi: 10.1007/s12105-024-01622-9. PMID: 38502259Free PMC Article
The Evaluation and Management of Carcinoma of the Minor Salivary Glands.
Walvekar R, Phalke NP
Otolaryngol Clin North Am 2021 Jun;54(3):629-639. doi: 10.1016/j.otc.2021.02.011. PMID: 34024489
Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma: diagnosis and treatment.
Kalhor N, Moran CA
Expert Rev Respir Med 2018 Mar;12(3):249-255. Epub 2018 Jan 17 doi: 10.1080/17476348.2018.1428563. PMID: 29338644

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Mucin-rich salivary gland tumors.
Bishop JA
Semin Diagn Pathol 2024 Jul;41(4):165-172. Epub 2024 Jun 8 doi: 10.1053/j.semdp.2024.06.001. PMID: 38853124
A molecular guide to systemic therapy in salivary gland carcinoma.
Weaver AN, Lakritz S, Mandair D, Ulanja MB, Bowles DW
Head Neck 2023 May;45(5):1315-1326. Epub 2023 Mar 1 doi: 10.1002/hed.27307. PMID: 36859797
Salivary Gland Cancers.
Tchekmedyian V
Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 2021 Oct;35(5):973-990. doi: 10.1016/j.hoc.2021.05.011. PMID: 34503735
Molecular Pathology of Salivary Gland Neoplasms: Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Predictive Perspective.
Toper MH, Sarioglu S
Adv Anat Pathol 2021 Mar 1;28(2):81-93. doi: 10.1097/PAP.0000000000000291. PMID: 33405400
Premalignant and malignant oral mucosal lesions: Clinical and pathological findings.
Maymone MBC, Greer RO, Kesecker J, Sahitya PC, Burdine LK, Cheng AD, Maymone AC, Vashi NA
J Am Acad Dermatol 2019 Jul;81(1):59-71. Epub 2018 Nov 14 doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2018.09.060. PMID: 30447325

Diagnosis

Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma.
Whaley RD, Gupta S, Erickson LA
Mayo Clin Proc 2023 Sep;98(9):1427-1428. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2023.07.018. PMID: 37661153
Molecular Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis in Pediatric Airways Tumors.
Soloperto D, Gazzini S, Cerullo R
Int J Mol Sci 2023 Jan 22;24(3) doi: 10.3390/ijms24032195. PMID: 36768522Free PMC Article
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma. An update and review of the literature.
Peraza A, Gómez R, Beltran J, Amarista FJ
J Stomatol Oral Maxillofac Surg 2020 Dec;121(6):713-720. Epub 2020 Jun 18 doi: 10.1016/j.jormas.2020.06.003. PMID: 32565266
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
Devaraju R, Gantala R, Aitha H, Gotoor SG
BMJ Case Rep 2014 Aug 1;2014:bcr-2013-202776. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-202776. PMID: 25085946Free PMC Article
Salivary tumours.
Eveson JW
Periodontol 2000 2011 Oct;57(1):150-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0757.2011.00385.x. PMID: 21781185

Therapy

Salivary gland tumors: Molecular characterization and therapeutic advances for metastatic disease.
Schvartsman G, Pinto NA, Bell D, Ferrarotto R
Head Neck 2019 Jan;41(1):239-247. Epub 2018 Dec 15 doi: 10.1002/hed.25468. PMID: 30552848
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma post-radioactive iodine treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma: unique presentation and putative etiologic association.
Saluja K, Butler RT, Pytynia KB, Zhao B, Karni RJ, Weber RS, El-Naggar AK
Hum Pathol 2017 Oct;68:189-192. Epub 2017 May 10 doi: 10.1016/j.humpath.2017.04.019. PMID: 28499545
Sinonasal carcinomas: epidemiology, pathology, and management.
Haerle SK, Gullane PJ, Witterick IJ, Zweifel C, Gentili F
Neurosurg Clin N Am 2013 Jan;24(1):39-49. Epub 2012 Sep 10 doi: 10.1016/j.nec.2012.08.004. PMID: 23174356
Cavitary mucoepidermoid carcinoma of lung with metastases in skeletal muscles as presenting features: a case report and review of the literature.
Singh A, Pandey KC, Pant NK
J Cancer Res Ther 2010 Jul-Sep;6(3):350-2. doi: 10.4103/0973-1482.73363. PMID: 21119274
Tracheobronchial gland tumors.
Gaissert HA, Mark EJ
Cancer Control 2006 Oct;13(4):286-94. doi: 10.1177/107327480601300406. PMID: 17075566

Prognosis

Poorly differentiated mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thyroid.
Lee K, Mirza O, Dobbs S, Jayaram S
BMJ Case Rep 2020 Dec 13;13(12) doi: 10.1136/bcr-2020-236539. PMID: 33318270Free PMC Article
Prognostic value of CRTC1-MAML2 translocation in salivary mucoepidermoid carcinoma: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Pérez-de-Oliveira ME, Wagner VP, Araújo ALD, Martins MD, Santos-Silva AR, Bingle L, Vargas PA
J Oral Pathol Med 2020 May;49(5):386-394. Epub 2019 Nov 16 doi: 10.1111/jop.12970. PMID: 31661572
Premalignant and malignant oral mucosal lesions: Clinical and pathological findings.
Maymone MBC, Greer RO, Kesecker J, Sahitya PC, Burdine LK, Cheng AD, Maymone AC, Vashi NA
J Am Acad Dermatol 2019 Jul;81(1):59-71. Epub 2018 Nov 14 doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2018.09.060. PMID: 30447325
Endobronchial tumours in childhood.
Curtis JM, Lacey D, Smyth R, Carty H
Eur J Radiol 1998 Nov;29(1):11-20. doi: 10.1016/s0720-048x(97)00185-x. PMID: 9934553
Bronchial adenoma.
Miller RE, Hopeman AR
Ann Thorac Surg 1975 Apr;19(4):378-85. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)64038-6. PMID: 164842

Clinical prediction guides

Pan-cancer spatially resolved single-cell analysis reveals the crosstalk between cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor microenvironment.
Ma C, Yang C, Peng A, Sun T, Ji X, Mi J, Wei L, Shen S, Feng Q
Mol Cancer 2023 Oct 13;22(1):170. doi: 10.1186/s12943-023-01876-x. PMID: 37833788Free PMC Article
Molecular Pathology of Salivary Gland Neoplasms: Diagnostic, Prognostic, and Predictive Perspective.
Toper MH, Sarioglu S
Adv Anat Pathol 2021 Mar 1;28(2):81-93. doi: 10.1097/PAP.0000000000000291. PMID: 33405400
Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Parotid: Very Close Margins and Adjuvant Radiotherapy.
Zenga J, Yu Z, Parikh A, Chen JX, Lin DT, Emerick KS, Faquin WC, Varvares MA, Deschler DG
ORL J Otorhinolaryngol Relat Spec 2019;81(1):55-62. Epub 2019 Apr 2 doi: 10.1159/000497438. PMID: 30939481
Intraparotid schwannoma.
McCarthy WA, Cox BL
Arch Pathol Lab Med 2014 Jul;138(7):982-5. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2013-0014-RS. PMID: 24978928
Salivary gland malignancies in children.
Yoshida EJ, García J, Eisele DW, Chen AM
Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2014 Feb;78(2):174-8. Epub 2013 Nov 19 doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2013.11.001. PMID: 24332197

Recent systematic reviews

Clinicopathological Predictors of Survival for Parotid Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma: A Systematic Review.
Cheng EY, Kim JH, Grose EM, Philteos J, Levin M, de Almeida J, Goldstein D
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2023 Apr;168(4):611-618. Epub 2023 Feb 5 doi: 10.1177/01945998221086845. PMID: 35316125
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) and adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC), the same or different entities?
White VA, Hyrcza MD, Lennerz JK, Thierauf J, Lokuhetty D, Cree IA, Indave BI
Mod Pathol 2022 Oct;35(10):1484-1493. Epub 2022 Jul 23 doi: 10.1038/s41379-022-01100-z. PMID: 35871081Free PMC Article
Elective neck dissection in salivary gland malignancies: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Yan F, Lao WP, Nguyen SA, Sharma AK, Day TA
Head Neck 2022 Feb;44(2):505-517. Epub 2021 Dec 4 doi: 10.1002/hed.26923. PMID: 34862810
Prevalence of mucoepidermoid carcinoma among intraoral minor salivary gland tumors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Poletto AG, Mello FW, Melo G, Rivero ERC
J Oral Pathol Med 2020 Sep;49(8):720-726. Epub 2020 Jul 4 doi: 10.1111/jop.13073. PMID: 32531838
Thymic Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Hamza A, Younes AI, Kalhor N
Adv Anat Pathol 2019 Nov;26(6):341-345. doi: 10.1097/PAP.0000000000000250. PMID: 31593977

Supplemental Content

Table of contents

    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.
    • Bookshelf
      See practice and clinical guidelines in NCBI Bookshelf. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Reviews

    Related information

    • MeSH
      Related Medical Subject Headings
    • PMC Articles
      Related information in PubMed Central Links
    • PubMed
      Related literature resources in PubMed

    Recent activity

    Clear Turn Off Turn On

    Your browsing activity is empty.

    Activity recording is turned off.

    Turn recording back on

    See more...