Juvenile Intraoral Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma

Cruz Perez, Danyel Elias; Pires, Fábio Ramôa; de Abreu Alves, Fábio; Lopes, Márcio Ajudarte; de Almeida, Oslei Paes; Kowalski, Luiz Paulo

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2007.04.029

« Previous Next »Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 66, Issue 2 , Pages 308-311, February 2008

Juvenile Intraoral Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma

Danyel Elias Cruz Perez, DDS, PhD
- Professor, Oral Pathology, Ribeirão Preto University, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil; and the Department of Stomatology, Center of Treatment and Research AC Camargo Cancer Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Perez: Hospital do Câncer AC Camargo – Departamento de Estomatologia, Rua Professor Antônio Prudente, 211, Liberdade, CEP 01509-900 Brazil
Fábio Ramôa Pires, DDS, PhD
- Professor, Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Fábio de Abreu Alves, DDS, PhD
- Director, Department of Stomatology, Center of Treatment and Research, AC Camargo Cancer Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil.
Márcio Ajudarte Lopes, DDS, PhD
- Professor, Oral Semiology, School of Dentistry of Piracicaba, State University of Campinas, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Oslei Paes de Almeida, DDS, PhD
- Professor, Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry of Piracicaba, State University of Campinas, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Luiz Paulo Kowalski, MD, PhD
- Director, Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Otorhinolaryngology, Center of Treatment and Research, AC Camargo Cancer Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to assess the clinicopathologic, treatment, and outcome features of a series of intraoral mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECs) affecting children and adolescents.

Patients and Methods

Between 1953 and 2006, from 102 intraoral MECs, 9 (8.8%) affected patients under 18 years of age. Clinical data were retrieved from the medical records, the microscopical slides reviewed, and the tumors graded in low, intermediate, and high grades of malignancy.

Results

Five cases occurred in females and 4 in males, with a mean age of 14 years. Seven cases affected the palate, and the other 2 occurred in the buccal mucosa and retromolar area. Most patients presented in initial clinical stages and all cases were surgically treated. Microscopically, 7 tumors were classified as histologically low-grade malignancies. Eight patients did not show tumor recurrence after a mean follow-up of 98.4 months (range, 4 to 278 months), and 1 patient developed local and neck recurrences and died after 15 years of initial treatment.

Conclusion

Juvenile MEC are rare tumors, most occur in the palate and present as a low-grade malignancy with excellent prognosis. Although rare, MEC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intraoral submucous nodule in young patients.