2008 Volume 22 Issue 2 Pages 186-192
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus is rare, accounting for less than 2% of thymic carcinomas, and the treatment strategy has not yet been elucidated. We present two cases of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of histologically low- and high-grade. We encountered a 58-year-old man with high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Thymectomy with lymph node dissection and intrathoracic chemo-thermotherapy following the operation was carried out. Only six months after the initial treatment, PET-CT scan showed recurrence to the adrenal gland. Eight months after resection, PET-CT scan revealed recurrence to the jejunum. The patient is being treated with systemic chemotherapy. The other case was a 53-year-old man with a low-grade tumor treated with multimodality therapy, as we previously reported. He underwent complete resection, and the specimen revealed low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma. However, the tumor recurred to the chest wall and pleura in 57 and 69 months respectively. Therefore, he was treated with re-resection, systemic chemotherapy, intrathoracic chemo-thermotherapy, and irradiation. He died of tumor progression with multiple metastases to the liver, vertebra, spleen, and kidney at 93 months after the initial resection.
