Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of unknown primary in the head and neck: a case report and review of the literature.

Kieran Chalmers, Phillip Staibano, Michael K Gupta, Michael Au

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In one paragraph

Review in The Journal of laryngology and otology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Kieran ChalmersDivision of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9461-5283

Phillip StaibanoDivision of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9095-9543

Michael K GuptaDivision of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Michael AuDivision of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveMucoepidermoid carcinoma of unknown primary (MEC-UP) in the head and neck is a rare presentation of the most common salivary gland cancer. Cancers of unknown primary sites often have poorer prognoses than similar cancers with known primary. Few cases of MEC-UP have been reported; therefore, the objective of this report is an overview of the diagnosis and management of MEC-UP.

methodsWe present two patients with low-grade MEC-UP at a high-volume tertiary care institution in Ontario, and a database search returning 1560 citations of which five studies with seven MEC-UP cases were identified.

resultsReview of the limited cases suggest many clinicians use positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) in addition to panendoscopy and targeted biopsies with consideration for diagnostic tonsillectomy in diagnostic work-up.

conclusionLike other salivary gland cancers, primary therapeutic surgical resection is recommended with low threshold for adjuvant radiotherapy to regions at high risk for harbouring the primary malignancy, especially in cases of high-grade histopathology.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, MucoepidermoidHead and Neck NeoplasmsNeoplasms, Unknown PrimaryAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPositron Emission Tomography Computed Tomographyclinical managementhead and neck cancermucoepidermoid carcinomaunknown primary neoplasm

Identifiers

PMID39658893

DOI10.1017/S0022215124002147

PMCPMC12303715

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