Ultrasonographic appearances of mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the salivary glands

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the ability of sonography for diagnosis of mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) in the salivary glands. Sonographic images of 74 cases were analyzed retrospectively; the features evaluated included size, echogenicity, shape, internal structure, distal acoustic enhancement, and regional lymph node enlargement and vascularization, and categorized them into 3 groups based on histology (low, intermediate, and high grade). The lesion size of low-grade MEC was smaller than those of intermediate- and high-grade MEC. MEC lesions of the salivary glands were mostly associated with heterogeneous echotexture, indistinct margins, irregular shape, and absence of distal acoustic enhancement. They sometimes showed cystic areas, calcifications, regional lymph node enlargement, or were well vascularized on Doppler. There were no significant sonographic differences in low-, intermediate-, and high-grade MEC. Salivary MEC presents a variety of sonographic appearances, which would aid in the diagnosis of salivary MEC.