Primary Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Breast: A Rare Breast Entity

Objectives: The imaging features of Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the breast are unfamiliar to the\r\nbreast radiologists due to its rarity. In this paper, we aimed to review the literature, do an analysis and find\r\na common pattern of those lesions that could potentially give a better understanding of this entity.\r\nMethods: A review is performed with searching keywords “mucoepidermoid carcinoma breast”, without\r\nlimitations in the dates or the article types, in the PubMed database. Information about the number of cases,\r\nthe age of the patients, the presenting symptom, the time-interval between the onset of the symptoms and\r\nthe time of diagnosis, the diagnostic approach, the imaging, the treatment and the outcome have been\r\nreviewed and tabulated.\r\nResults: We identified 40 cases. The mean age of the patients was 57. The commonest symptom was a\r\npalpable mass, few months to up to 37 years, prior to the diagnosis, with the size ranging 5-82 mm. On US,\r\nthe lesions appeared as irregular masses or had cystic benign features. The majority underwent a\r\nradical/modified radical mastectomy with a form of axillary lymph node procedure. 15 cases were Highgrade, 3 Intermediate-grade, and 19 Low-grade MEC. No chemotherapy was administered in most cases\r\nand in a mean follow-up time of 30 months, 5 died because of metastasis.\r\nConclusion: Due to its rarity, the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of MEC in the breast is not welldocumented, causing challenges in daily practice, even at experienced Breast Centers. Review of the\r\npublished cases is essential for multidisciplinary team meetings to plan treatment strategies.