Ki. Mafune et al., SCLEROSING MUCOEPIDERMOID CARCINOMA OF THE ESOPHAGUS WITH INTRAEPITHELIAL CARCINOMA OR DYSPLASTIC EPITHELIUM, Journal of surgical oncology, 58(3), 1995, pp. 184-190
Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the esophagus is a particularly rare lesio
n, and only 24 cases have been reported in the English literature. Usi
ng histochemical methods, we identified four (3.1%) of 135 resected pr
imary esophageal cancers as mucoepidermoid carcinomas. Gross examinati
on of these four tumors disclosed sclerosing submucosal infiltration w
ith shallow surface ulceration, which had appeared as a funnel-shaped
constriction on esophagram. The intraepithelial spread of the tumor in
two cases and the close relationship between foci of invading carcino
ma and regions of dysplastic epithelium in the remaining two cases sug
gest that esophageal mucoepidermoid carcinoma may originate in the squ
amous epithelium. Although mucoepidermoid carcinoma should theoretical
ly offer a fair prognosis, the outcome for patients with this lesion h
as generally been as poor as patients with typical squamous cell carci
noma. This further implies that mucoepidermoid carcinomas may arise fr
om the squamous epithelium. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.