EBV-negative lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma of the lower lip

Abstract

Lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma (LEC) is a rare malignant neoplasm, which can be associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Histologically, LEC is an undifferentiated carcinoma with an intermixed reactive lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. LEC appears to be an uncommon tumor type of lip carcinoma. An 82-year-old white woman presented a lesion on her lower lip that developed over the last year. The lesion was characterized by ulceration with flat edges, hardened base, painful, and absence of regional lymphadenopathy. Microscopical analysis evidenced an intense inflammatory infiltrate, composed of lymphoplasmacytic cells, associated with scarce pleomorphic epithelial cells. Immunohistochemistry highlighted the LEC cells with strong expression of pan-CK AE1/AE3, EMA, p63, and p53. CD138 was also faintly positive. Ki-67 was >85%. In situ hybridization analysis did not show evidence of EBV. A diagnostic of EBV-negative LEC was made. We present an uncommon type of lip carcinoma, which can represent a diagnostic challenge for clinicians and pathologists.

Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma in the Lateral Tongue: The Case Report

“…One case with EBV showed p53 expression in only 25% of the tumor cells, suggesting wild type [5]. In contrast, one EBVnegative LEC showed overexpression of p53 on immunohistochemistry [14]. Although the number of cases is limited, there may be different mechanisms of tumorigenesis in oral LEC.…”

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma in the body of the tongue: The first case report

“…One case with EBV showed p53 expression in only 25% of the tumor cells, suggesting wild type 3 . In contrast, one EBV-negative LEC showed overexpression of p53 on immunohistochemistry 4 . Although the number of cases is limited, there may be different mechanisms of tumorigenesis in oral LEC.…”

Lymphoepithelial Subtype of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Report of an EBV-Negative Case and Literature Review

“…The review of the pertinent literature yielded 27 cases (including our case), all of which were case reports or case series [ 5 , 11 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. The available data are presented in Table 1 and summarized in Table 2 .…”

“…Surgical excision alone or in combination with adjuvant radiation therapy and, on certain occasions, chemotherapy was the most commonly used therapeutic intervention. In general, non-nasopharyngeal LEC of the head and neck, including oral and oropharyngeal tumors, are considered radiosensitive cancers with high rates of locoregional control [ 1 , 21 , 37 , 46 ]. The potential application of novel targeted therapies deserves further investigation; for example, c-kit (CD117) overexpression in an oral LEC case may suggest a possible role of imatinib (tyrosine kinase inhibitor) in the treatment of a subset of these tumors [ 29 ].…”