Abstract
The authors describe a rare case of mucoepidermal carcinoma of the lung incidentally
identified in preoperative assessments for inguinal hernia repair in a 5-year-old
girl. This patient was referred for right external inguinal hernia, and a 3.0-cm round-shaped
lesion was found in the right lower lung field of a chest x-ray film. She had no respiratory
tract complaints, but her serum carcinoembryonic antigen concentration was markedly
elevated (21.2 ng/mL). Chest and abdominal computed tomography/magnetic resonance
images could not determine the nature of the lesion, but 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) indicated a malignant tumor pattern.
The patient underwent a computed tomography–guided needle biopsy of the lesion (S8),
which was soon followed by a right lower pulmonary lobectomy. Histopathology of the
resected specimen showed mucoepidermal carcinoma with no regional lymph node metastasis.
In childhood asymptomatic pulmonary lesions, it is often difficult to rule out the
possibility of malignancy. In the present case, FDG-PET scanning appropriately indicated
the therapeutic priority of pediatric thoracic surgery.
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© 2005 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
