• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.169-174
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• 2021

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common malignant neoplasm of the salivary gland, but primary thyroid MEC has rarely been reported and usually has a good prognosis. Herein, I report a case of thyroidal MEC with a poor prognosis in an 82-year-old woman with an anterior neck mass. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a thyroid mass. The patient initially underwent fine-needle aspiration, was diagnosed with malignancy, and underwent a right lobectomy. On gross examination, a 4.0×3.6×2.6 cm-sized ill-defined, unencapsulated, and infiltrative tan to whitish mass with necrosis was identified. Microscopically, epidermoid tumor cell nests or solid sheets were identified. Mucous cells that were positive for periodic acid-Schiff and mucicarmine stains were also identified within epidermoid cell nests. Frequent mitosis and necrosis were observed. Immunohistochemical staining for p40 and p63 was positive, and that for thyroid transcription factor-1 and paired box gene 8 was focally positive. According to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology grading system for salivary gland MEC, the current case was classified as high-grade MEC. After surgery, the patient suffered from dyspnea due to a remnant neck mass that compressed and obstructed the trachea; therefore, the patient refused further treatment. Thyroidal MECs are considered low-grade with a favorable prognosis, but there are several reported cases of thyroidal MEC with poor prognosis. The current case is a rare presentation of high-grade thyroidal MEC with a poor prognosis.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.79-82
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• 2014

Salivary gland tumors take possession of almost 5% in head and neck malignancies. Among these, mucoepidermoid carcinoma(MEC) is most common malignany in major salivary glands(12-29%) and the parotid gland is most predilection site. Intra-oral MEC has a tendency to various locations, and the predilection sites are palate, cheek, mandible, lip and tongue in order of frequency. A few cases of MEC are occurred in with retromolar trigone, oropharynx, and ectopic salivary gland. Recently, we experienced a-65-year old woman with retromolar trigonal mass, and she was finally diagnosed as MEC. We report it with review of literature.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.66-70
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• 2016

Introduction: Distant metastases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) are reported with the most common sites being the soft tissue of skin, lung, liver, and bone. We report here a very rare case of MEC with multiple metastases to the kidney, adrenal gland, skull and gluteus maximus muscle. Case report: A 63-year-old male patient presented with left-sided headache. Radiologic evaluations including CT and MRI showed ill-defined soft tissue lesion involving the left infratemporal fossa and left sphenoid sinus, and multiple enlarged lymph nodes in neck and mediastinum. PET-CT demonstrated multiple hypermetabolic lesions in and around the left kidney, left adrenal gland, right ischium, right gluteus maximus and skull base. These lesions were confirmed as MEC with multiple metastases through biopsy. Discussion: Only one case of metastasis to the skull has been previously reported, and moreover, there has not been a case of metastatic MEC to the kidney, adrenal gland and gluteus maximus muscle so far in the medical literature. It is important to acknowledge the possibility of every unusual MEC metastases, since the presence of metastasis has statistically significant influence on the survival of MEC.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.207-210
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• 2008

The purpose of this paper is to review our experience with mucoepidermoid carcinoma(MEC), a rare tumour in minor salivary glands, in a paediatric patients. 15-year-old boy was noted to have a irregular round mass appearing atthe soft palate just to the right of the mid-line. A computed tomographic(CT) scan showed a palatal mass limited to soft palate with no bony erosion. The lesion was curetted and debulked. Pathology was reported as an intermediate-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and the patient was considered to radiation therapy institution for further treatment. To date, patients remain free of disease. Wide local excision is the treatment of choice for low to intermediate grade MEC of the minor salivary glands in paediatric patients.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.39-41
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• 2017

Salivary gland tumors comprise almost 5% of head and neck malignancies, and minor salivary gland tumor which account for 10-15% of all salivary gland neoplasm are infrequently malignant. The mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is second most common tumor in minor salivary gland. It usually presents as a painless, rubbery-hard or soft mass, which may be fixed or mobile into the underlying structure. The predilection sites of intraoral MEC are palate, cheek, mandible, lip, and tongue, etc. There are very few published reports of MEC occurred in retromolar trigone. Only one case has been reported so far. Recently, we experienced a-70-year old man with a mass in retromolar trigone, which was finally diagnosed as MEC. We report the unique case with literature review.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.317-324
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term survival outcomes and prognostic factors that affect the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent surgery and postoperative radiotherapy for major salivary gland mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC). Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 44 patients who underwent surgery followed by radiotherapy for primary MEC of the major salivary glands between 1991 and 2014. The median follow-up period was 9.8 years (range, 0.8 to 23.8 years). Results: The overall outcomes at 5 and 10 years were 81.5% and 78.0% for overall survival (OS), 86.2% and 83.4% for disease-free survival, 90.6% and 87.6% for locoregional recurrence-free survival, and both 90.5% for distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). Histologic grade was the only independent predictor of OS (low vs. intermediate vs. high; hazard ratio = 3.699; p = 0.041) in multivariate analysis. A poorer survival was observed among patients with high-grade tumors compared with those with non-high-grade tumors (5-year OS, 37.5% vs. 91.7%, p < 0.001; 5-year DMFS, 46.9% vs. 100%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Surgery and postoperative radiotherapy resulted in excellent survival outcomes for patients with major salivary gland MEC. However, high-grade tumors contributed to poor DMFS and OS. Additional aggressive strategies for improving survival outcomes should be developed for high-grade MEC.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.89-92
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• 2018

Malignant salivary gland tumors only represent 0.08% of all childhood tumors. Especially, nasopharyngeal mucoepidermoid carcinoma(MEC) in pediatric age is an extremely rare malignancy. We hereby report a case of nasopharyngeal MEC in 5 year-old female patient. The patient underwent the complete removal of the tumor by endonasal endoscopic approach. Adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy was not considered. After 3.5 years of follow-up, there are no sign of recurrence and metastasis. Minor salivary gland tumor must be considered as a differential diagnosis of angiofibroma in nasopharynx in pediatric age. To our knowledge, the case we describe is the third case of nasopharyngeal MEC in pediatric age reported in literature.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.161-164
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• 2014

Mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECs) arising within the jaws as primary central bony lesions are termed central MECs. Central MECs are extremely rare, comprising 2-3% of all mucoepidermoid carcinomas. We herein report a rare case of central MEC of the maxilla in a 52-year-old male whose plain radiographs showed a "ground glass" pattern and computed tomographic images, a hypodense mass with numerous calcifications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of central MEC showing a "ground glass" appearance.

• The Korean Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.167-174
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• 2018

Natural products are vastly utilized as a source of chemotherapeutic agents for human cancers. Kochia scopraia is traditionally used for the cure of urological and dermatological diseases. Recently, methanol extract of Kochia scoparia (MEKS) has been shown to have anti-cancer activity to various human cancers. However, there is no report demonstrating the anti-cancer activity of MEKS in human mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) cells. In this study, the authors studied the effects of MEKS on the cell proliferation and underlying mechanism in YD15 human MEC cells. MEKS decreased YD15 cell proliferation proven by trypan blue exclusion assay and induced apoptosis, evidenced by cell cycle analysis and western blotting. Autophagy induction by MEKS was verified by western blotting. In addition, MEKS regulated the expression of phosphorylated Akt, phosphorylated p38 and Nrf2 protein. This results can imply that MEKS might be a potential candidate for the treatment of human MEC cells.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.370-374
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• 2016

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common type of malignant neoplasm in the minor salivary gland. The hard palate is a frequently involved site of MEC. The treatment of low-grade MEC on the hard palate is wide local resection with a tumor-free margin. In the present case, the maxillary defect was reconstructed using a buccal fat pad (BFP) flap, followed by application of 4-hexylresorcinol (4HR) ointment for 2 weeks. The grafted BFP successfully covered the tumor resection defect without tension and demonstrated complete re-epithelialization without any complications.