Mucoepidermoid carcinoma. An update and review of the literature

Objective: Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant salivary gland neoplasm, representing 10 to 15% of all salivary neoplasms. A review of the literature was conducted in order to determine trends in presentation, diagnostic features, treatment, and outcomes.

Methods: A PubMed, Embase, and Scopus search was carried out. The search process was performed by 2 independent reviewing authors and inclusion criteria included systematic reviews, meta-analyses, case-controls studies, cohort studies, comparative studies, clinical trials, cross-sectional studies, descriptive studies, experimental studies, case reports, case series studies, and human studies evaluating MEC.

Results: Females were more affected (54.5%) and the average age was 48.8 years. The most common location of MEC was the parotid glands (56.8%) followed by hard palate (18%). The most frequent clinical presentation was mass (65.2%) followed by ulcer (29.4%) with pressure as their main symptom (64.4%). The most frequent histologic presentation was Low grade (46.7%) followed by Intermediate grade (27.3%) and the most used treatment was surgery (76.2%). The average follow up was 138.5months, and recurrence was reported at 8.5%.

Conclusion: MEC showed a strong predilection for the parotid glands is frequently painful, most frequently presents as a mass and most commonly has a low-grade histologic presentation.