Surgery is a common treatment for cancer.
Mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MECs) are a cancer of the salivary glands in your mouth and throat that produce saliva. Salivary gland cancers are fairly rare in the general population, although in older age, radiation exposure and workplace exposure to materials like silica dust are factors that potentially increase the risk of this cancer. The type of treatment doctors prescribe for this disease depends on how far it has progressed at the time of diagnosis.
Incidence and Symptoms
Thirty-five percent of salivary gland cancers are MECs. Typical symptoms are similar to those for other salivary gland cancers; these can include difficulty swallowing or opening your mouth, tenderness, fluid draining from your ear and/or a painless lump near your jaw or inside your mouth. The average age at time of diagnosis is over 50, although MECs are the most common kind of salivary gland cancer in children.
Testing
If a doctor thinks you may have MEC, they'll typically perform a physical exam to check for unusual lumps or abnormalities. They may use imaging tests like an MRI or PET scan, or take a tissue biopsy to collect a tissue sample for analysis in a lab.
Classification
MECs are distinguished from other salivary gland cancers on the basis of their appearance under a microscope; MECs typically contain three types of cells. Doctors usually categorize the cancer into one of three different grades. The cells from a low-grade MEC resemble normal salivary gland cells, while high-grade MEC cells appear distinctly abnormal; intermediate grade are in between. Low-grade tumors typically grow more slowly and are thus easier to treat successfully than high-grade tumors.
Survival Rates
Survival rates for this disease depend greatly on the kind of cancer and how well it responds to treatment. A study published in the "Archives of Otolaryngology" in 2004 found a five-year survival rate of 94 percent for patients with low-grade MECs, 82.5 percent for intermediate MECs, and 34.4 percent for high-grade MECs. Generally physicians will adopt more aggressive treatment for a high-grade MEC to try to stop the cancer before it can spread.
Treatment
Surgery is the most for MECs, although it can be difficult since there are important nerves located in and around the salivary glands. In some cases, removing a tumor can damage a nerve and partially paralyze your face, although surgeons can sometimes repair this damage. Radiation therapy is often used in conjunction with surgery to shrink the tumor beforehand and kill any cancer cells that escape the knife. Chemotherapy is a more uncommon treatment, although doctors will sometimes turn to chemo if the cancer has spread to other organs of your body.
Tags: salivary gland, gland cancers, salivary gland cancers, your mouth, common treatment, gland cancer, MECs percent