Parotid Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma in a Pediatric Patient: A Case Report

TL;DR

A 14-year-old girl was diagnosed with parotid mucoepidermoid carcinoma, a rare salivary gland cancer, and the case is reported for its clinical and diagnostic features.

Contribution

This paper presents a rare pediatric case of parotid mucoepidermoid carcinoma with detailed clinical and diagnostic findings.

Findings

The patient had a 3 cm painless, mobile parotid mass confirmed as mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Contrast-enhanced CT showed increased nodules in the jugular and cervical chains.

Fine needle aspiration revealed a mucinous background, supporting the diagnosis.

Abstract

Mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECas) are malignant epithelial salivary gland neoplasms composed of a variable mixture of epidermoid and mucus-secreting cells arising from the ductal epithelium. Of all salivary gland tumors, MECas are the most common malignant lesions of the parotid gland. This case report aims to present a 14-year-old female patient with a history of progressive enlargement of a 3 cm in diameter, painless, mobile mass located at the parotid gland without facial nerve dysfunction. The lesion was exhaustively studied preoperatively, and studies were carried out. Contrast-enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) showed an increase in nodule numbers and size at the level of both the jugular and posterior cervical chains. In contrast, the gland's fine needle aspiration (FNA) showed a mucinous background. The histologic depiction established that the tumor was MECa of the parotid gland. The literature reviews on MECa encompass discussions about its prevalence, etiology, histological findings, and treatment.

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