title: Surgical treatment of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lung: 20 years' experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a rare salivary gland-type neoplasm. We aimed to elucidate the optimal management of this rare condition by reviewing the treatment outcomes of patients at our institution with mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lung.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective review of all patients with pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma who underwent surgical treatment between January 1993 and December 2012. We reviewed the patients' clinical characteristics and the therapeutic interventions undertaken.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine patients were evaluated in this study, 7 of whom were female. The median age of all patients was 54 years (range 10-72 years). Six patients had tumors of a low histologic grade, and the other 3 had high-grade malignancies. Prior to surgery, 2 patients required endobronchial intervention for obstructive pneumonia. Eight patients underwent lobectomy, and one had a bilobectomy. Two patients required bronchoplasty, and one required resection of the left atrium for complete resection of the primary neoplasm. Two patients with advanced disease and high-grade tumors died due to cancer progression. The overall 5-year survival rate was 72.9%. One patient with a high-grade malignancy demonstrated exon 21 mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Complete surgical resection is important for long-term survival in patients with pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma. The techniques of bronchoplasty and extended resection may contribute to better surgical management of this disease. Endobronchial interventions may be considered for the management of obstructive pneumonia prior to surgery.
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Takayoshi
authors: T
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan takahiro_nakajima@med.miyazaki-u.ac.jp.
authors: Takahiro
authors: T
authors: Nakajima
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Hidemi
authors: H
authors: Suzuki
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Tetsuzo
authors: T
authors: Tagawa
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Takekazu
authors: T
authors: Iwata
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Teruaki
authors: T
authors: Mizobuchi
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Shigetoshi
authors: S
authors: Yoshida
authors: Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Yukio
authors: Y
authors: Nakatani
authors: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors: Ichiro
authors: I
authors: Yoshino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D018277:Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D018450:Disease Progression; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D011013:Pneumonectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C512478:EGFR protein, human; D066246:ErbB Receptors
keywords: Bronchial neoplasms; Carcinoma; Lung neoplasms; Pneumonectomy; Receptor; Survival rate; epidermal growth factor; mucoepidermoid