Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma with endobronchial involvement: A case report

Theeb Sulaiman¹, Abdullah Arshad¹, Mohammed Alkhatib¹, Bara Wazwaz¹, Merlin Thomas¹

Keywords: Mucoepidermoid cancer, Pneumonia, Endobronchial lesion

DOI: 10.18231/j.yjom.2024.029

DOI URL: http://doi.org/10.18231/j.yjom.2024.029

Publish Date: 15-12-2024

Pages: 257 - 261

Downloads: 1

Author Affiliation:

1Department of Medicine, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, Qatar

Abstract

Although mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC) commonly occur in the salivary glands, they are rarely encountered in the lungs. In this case report, we present a rare case of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma with endobronchial involvement in a 36-year-old Indian man who presented to our pulmonary outpatient clinic with a 10-year history of recurrent lower respiratory tract infections. A comprehensive workup was performed in his home country, but did not lead to a definitive diagnosis. At our hospital, high-resolution chest computed tomography was repeated, confirming a well-demarcated soft tissue mass measuring 1.7 x 1.8 x 1.1 cm in the right lower lobe bronchus. This was followed by positron emission tomography (PET) showing intense fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the mass with a standardized uptake value (SUV) of 7.9. The final diagnosis was made by histopathological examination of a resected right lower lobe, which confirmed the diagnosis of low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma, with no metastases found in the lymph nodes. The patient was then referred to a multidisciplinary oncology team, which opted for regular surveillance and follow-up.