Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Hard Palate in a Young Patient

Abstract

Carcinomas of salivary glands are rare and can affect major or minor salivary glands. Among them, the mucoepidermoid carcinoma is the most prevalent and its occurrence in the first 2 decades of life is highly unusual. Their common clinical aspect to different diseases is a challenge in diagnosis. The objective of this work is to elucidate the diagnosis of lesion in the hard palate of an adolescent patient, brown-skinned, male, forwarded to the oral surgery department at the State University of Londrina. Initially, he complained about a progressive swelling in the last 60 days. Through computed tomography scan, it was noted intraosseous involvement in the maxilla involving dental apex of the elements 13, 14, 15, right maxillary sinus extending to piriform sinus. Proceeding with clinical examination, followed by biopsy, histology, and immunohistochemical analysis, we established the diagnosis of mucoepidermoid carcinoma. After verification, the patient was sent to the referenced service to start cancer treatment.

Intraosseous mucoepidermoid carcinoma: Outcome review

“…They have been associated with dental cysts and/or impacted teeth in up to 50% of cases, and several case reports suggest neoplastic transformation of the epithelial lining of an odontogenic cyst as an etiology . Due to the rarity of this condition, studies have been limited to case reports and reviews of institutional records . The mainstay of IMEC treatment is surgery, with occasional use of adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy.…”

“…2,4 Due to the rarity of this condition, studies have been limited to case reports and reviews of institutional records. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] The mainstay of IMEC treatment is surgery, with occasional use of adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy. No clear treatment paradigms exist to date.…”

Three-dimensional evaluation of mucoepidermoid carcinoma on the hard palate

“…Individuals aged between 6 and 90 years old, with a mean age of occurrence ranging from 51 to 56 years old can be affected by this type of lesion. 2,3 Approximately three-quarter of the cases involve low-grade tumors, showing rarely metastasize.…”

“…5 The ultimate management of the inner bone margin of such tumors has not been conclusively established yet, but the treatment by partial maxillectomy or palatal fenestration are indicated for large and bulky tumors or those with radiological and tomographic evidence of bone erosion or invasion. [2][3][4][5][6] The use of three-dimensional principles has facilitated the observation and comparison of several treatment plannings. 7 The performance of a volumetric evaluation of the overall morphological changes in noble structures, thus enabling a better understanding of the tumor's morphology and its proximity to adjacent tissues is allowed by three-dimensional reconstruction.…”

“…8 Besides, the 3D reconstruction techniques allow the surgical team to determine more characteristics regarding localization and extension of the tumour. 3,[8][9][10] Given this, the objective of this work is to report a clinical case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma on the hard palate in which 3D re-constructions from cone beam computed tomographic (CBCT) images were used. This allowed for segmentation and volumetric analysis of the lesion in order to determine the relationship between tumor and noble anatomical structures and provide favorable information to choose the best surgical technique for treating this pathology.…”