Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the bronchus in two children: Case reports

Childhood mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC) of the bronchus are rare. They present with non-specific symptoms and signs making diagnosis delayed. We present two children with bronchial MEC managed in a tertiary children's hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The first was a 11-year male with recurrent haemoptysis and the second child was a 6-year female with recurrent unifo-cal pneumonia. Chest CT scan and bronchoscopy with biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Both pa-tients underwent treatment, including surgery and are doing well. It is important to exclude en-dobronchial lesions when children present with recurrent respiratory symptoms, since early diag-nosis will enable lung-sparing treatment.