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Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is a rare salivary gland tumor, accounting for 0.2% of all lung tumors. The standard treatment for MEC of the primary bronchus is surgery, although intraluminal bronchoscopic treatment has recently become an option. A 68-year-old man presented with an asymptomatic bronchial tumor in the right intermediate bronchus. The tumor was resected using a high-frequency snare (HFS) during bronchoscopy, and the specimen was pathologically diagnosed as low-grade MEC. A residual lesion was detected in the resected area by autofluorescence imaging. The tumor appeared to be localized within the subepithelial layer without metastases, and photodynamic therapy (PDT) was performed as a local treatment. The patient had no recurrence for 18 months. PDT is effective and safe for patients with centrally located early-stage lung cancer, but there are few reports of its use for rare tumors, such as MEC. In this case, PDT allowed for local control and avoided surgery, including bronchoplasty, for MEC. Combined treatment of tumor reduction by HFS and PDT of the residual lesion may be an optimal treatment for MEC of the bronchus., (© 2023 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma (PMEC) is extremely rare. Herein, we report a case of a 71-year-old male patient with high-grade PMEC involving the right upper lobe that was successfully resected via lobectomy. As a result of invasion into the pleural and paratracheal lymph nodes, four cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel and carboplatin were administered. There were no signs of relapse during 10 months of follow-up. Furthermore, we reviewed the literature and summarized the surgical approaches, prognostic factors, and underlying genetic mechanisms of PMEC, which will benefit clinical treatment., (© 2017 The Authors. Thoracic Cancer published by China Lung Oncology Group and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)