Kenichi Nishie, Masanori Yasuo, Hidekazu Takahashi, Yoko Ozawa, Kazunari Tateishi, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Keiichiro Koiwai, Takeshi Uehara, Gen Ideura and Masayuki Hanaoka
A 69-year-old female presented with dyspnea and dysphagia. Chest computed tomography showed a middle mediastinum tumor compressing the trachea. Biopsy showed mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC). A tracheal stent was placed to keep the airway patency and radiation therapy (RT) was started. However, the patient’s respiratory status worsened and she was intubated. The intratracheal tumor was reduced using argon plasma coagulation. After restarting RT of 49 Gy, the tumor shrank, allowing the patient to be weaned from ventilatory support. Although MEC is considered RT-resistant, it was beneficial in our case, suggesting that RT is a treatment option for unresectable bronchial MEC.