Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thyroid gland: A case report and suggestedsurgical approach

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the thyroid gland is a rare neoplasm with 40 cases reported in the world literature to date. Controversy surrounds t he treatment of this rare neoplasm. It has been described as a low-grade in dolent tumor that rarely metastasizes and only recurs locally without morbi dity. Suggested treatment has consisted of a lobectomy or subtotal thyroide ctomy. We report a case of a 63-year-old woman with a 15-year history of a multinodular goiter with a dominant left lobe nodule. Fine-needle aspiratio n was inconclusive. The patient opted for a total thyroidectomy. Final path ology yielded a diagnosis of mucoepidermoid carcinoma. We propose that desp ite its low-grade appearance the morbidity and mortality associated with it s ability to locally recur and metastasize justify the need for more aggres sive surgical therapy.