A carcinoma morphologically characterized the presence of cuboidal mucous cells, goblet-like mucous cells, squamoid cells, cystic changes, and a fibrotic stromal formation. It can occur in several anatomic sites, including parotid gland, oral cavity, paranasal sinus, skin, breast, lung, larynx, and lacrimal ducts. It is classified as low or high grade.

(carcinoma, mucoepidermoid) A tumor of both low- and high-grade malignancy. The low-grade grow slowly, appear in any age group, and are readily cured by excision. The high-grade behave aggressively, widely infiltrate the salivary gland and produce lymph node and distant metastases. Mucoepidermoid carcinomas account for about 21% of the malignant tumors of the parotid gland and 10% of the sublingual gland. They are the most common malignant tumor of the parotid. (From DeVita Jr et al., Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology, 3d ed, p575; Holland et al., Cancer Medicine, 3d ed, p1240)

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is a type of cancer of the salivary glands. Salivary gland cancer is diagnosed in 2-3 individuals per 100,000 people each year, and 30-35% of these are mucoepidermoid carcinomas. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma develops when a cell randomly acquires changes (mutations) in genes that regulate how the cell divides such...