Primary epithelial–myoepithelial carcinoma of the lung: Reporting a rare entity at a rare location

Abstract

Epithelial–myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) of the lung is a rare neoplasm, constituting about 0.1%–1% of all primary lung cancers. EMC usually has an indolent course with occasional distant metastasis. A 52-year-old male presented with an unresectable lesion in the upper lobe of the right lung with mediastinal lymph nodes. Bronchoscopic biopsy and detailed histopathological examination revealed an EMC of the lung. Due to advanced disease and poor performance status of the patient, he was treated with palliative radiation followed by palliative chemotherapy. However, the patient succumbed to the disease after two cycles of palliative chemotherapy. Experience with EMC of the lung is limited and optimal treatment protocols have not been defined, with current treatment mainly extrapolated from EMC of the salivary glands from the head and neck. We add another case to the limited literature of EMC of the lung.

Keywords

• epithelial–myoepithelial carcinoma
• lung
• radiotherapy