Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma Of Salivary Gland Research Articles

Is radical radiotherapy with/without surgery an effective treatment in the lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary gland？

BackgroundThere is limited information of radical radiotherapy (RT) on lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland (LECSG) regarding to the rarity of the disease. We conducted this retrospective study that evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of radical RT with/without surgery in LECSG.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed patients that were pathologically diagnosed of LECSG and had definite or suspicious residual disease. The prescribed dose given to P-GTV and/or P-GTV-LN was 66 to 70.4 Gy. The clinical target volume (CTV) involved ipsilateral salivary gland and corresponding lymph node drainage area.ResultsA total of 56 patients were included. With a median follow-up of 60 months (range: 8 to 151 months), the 1-, 5-, and 10-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 94.6%, 84.7% and 84.7%; locoregional progression-free survival (LRPFS) rates were 98.2%, 87.4% and 87.4%; distance metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rates were 94.6%, 86.7% and 86.7%; and overall survival (OS) rates were 98.2%, 92.4% and 89.0%, respectively. A total of 7 patients without surgery were included. All patients were alive and only one patient experienced failure of distant metastasis four months after RT. The results of univariate analysis showed that compared with N stage, the number of positive lymph nodes (2 positive lymph nodes) was better prognostic predictor especially in PFS. There were no treatment-related deaths and most toxicities of RT were mild.ConclusionsRadical RT with/without surgery in LECSG for definite or suspicious residual disease is feasibility and efficacy. Most toxicities of RT were mild due to the target volume involved ipsilateral area.

Elevated preradiotherapy serum lactate dehydrogenase predicts distant metastasis for lymphoepithelial carcinoma of major salivary gland following postoperative radiotherapy.

To evaluate the predicting factors associated with distant metastasis (DM) for lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland (LECSG) following postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). We retrospectively collected 160 eligible patients from two cancer institutions. The DM rate was evaluated using competing risk method. The median follow-up time was 65.6 months. Elevated preradiotherapy serum LDH (ratio >0.5) (p=0.006) and N classification (N2-3) (p=0.001) were independently associated with DM for the LECSG. After the risk stratification, the high-risk subgroup was defined as the patients presented higher risk score (score >0), whereas 5-year cumulative incidence of DM in the high- and low-risk group was 30.9% and 6.0%, respectively (p < 0.001). Moreover, a significantly worse overall survival (OS) was observed in the high-risk patients compared with the low-risk subgroup (5-year OS: 83.9% vs. 97.8%, p=0.006). Elevated preradiotherapy serum LDH could serve as a predictive factor for DM in the LECSG following PORT.

Clinical features in salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma in 10 patients: Case series and literature review.

ObjectiveLymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) accounts for 0.4% of malignant tumors of the salivary gland and 0.8% of parotid gland malignancies. Over the past 50 years, less than 300 cases have been reported in the literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of salivary gland LEC.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records and analyzed clinical data obtained from 10 patients seen at our hospital between 2005 and 2020 with salivary gland LEC.ResultsAll patients presented with a self‐palpable, non‐tender, hard swelling, or lump near the jaw or infra‐auricular region. Most cases (n = 8) were of solitary tumors, and enhancing patterns on computed tomography mainly were homogenous (n = 8). Interestingly, eight patients tested positive for the Epstein–Barr encoding region in in situ hybridization. Still, only three patients had detectable circulating Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) DNA, and one patient had detectable EBV IgA. All patients underwent complete tumor resection, followed by radiotherapy, and six also underwent chemotherapy. Nine patients became disease‐free within 5 years, and one died due to disease 4 years after surgery.ConclusionAlthough rare and considered to be a high‐risk malignancy, LECs have favorable treatment outcomes. Circulating EBV DNA is still not considered a marker for preoperative assessment or postoperative treatment response. The role of EBV DNA requires further investigation.Level of Evidence: 4

Programmed death ligand 1 expression and CD8+T lymphocyte infiltration in salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma

Objective: To study the expression of programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) in tumor cells and CD8+T lymphocytes in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, and to analyze the correlation of PD-L1 expression with infiltration of CD8+T lymphocytes and clinicopathologic features in salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC). Methods: Forty-two cases of primary salivary LECs and 21 cases of secondary salivary LECs were enrolled at the Department of Oral Pathology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University between 2015 and 2017. The expression of Epstein-Barr (EB) virus, PD-L1 and CD8 was examined using chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 software package. Results: EB virus was detected in 61 cases (61/63, 96.8%), including 42 (42/42, 100%) primary LECs and 19 (19/21, 90.5%) secondary LECs. The PD-L1 positive rate (score ≥1) was 97.6% (41/42), and its high-expression rate (score ≥20) was 78.6% (33/42) in primary LECs. The PD-L1 positive rate (score ≥1) was 71.4% (15/21), and its high-expression rate (≥20) was 38.1% (8/21) in secondary LECs. However, the PD-L1 positive rate (score ≥1, P=0.004) and high-expression rate (score ≥20, P=0.001) in primary LECs were higher than those in secondary LECs. There was no difference in the infiltration degree of CD8+T lymphocytes between primary and secondary LECs. There was a significant correlation between the expression of PD-L1 and CD8 in primary LECs (P=0.001) and in secondary LECs (P=0.048), respectively. Conclusions: There is PD-L1 expression in primary and secondary salivary LECs, while the expression rate is higher in primary LECs than secondary LECs. The combination of PD-L1 expression and CD8+T lymphocytes' presence suggest that most LEC patients might be responsive to immunotherapy, and primary LECs might be more significantly responsive than secondary LECs.

Clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic analysis of lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland: a population-based study.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland (LEC-SG) and determine the factors associated with survival. A total of 179 LEC-SG patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 1975 to 2016 were included. The clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival of LEC-SG patients were described, and the features affecting prognosis were further determined using Kaplan-Meier Curves and Cox survival analysis. The median overall survival of LEC-SG patients was 206 months, and the 1-, 5-, 10- and 20-year survival rates were 91.0%, 80.2%, 66.4%, and 37.6%, respectively. The prognoses were significantly associated with age, ethnicity, marital status, tumor invasion, as well as lymph node metastases [P<0.01 for all). Surgical resection could significantly improve the prognosis of this disease (median overall survival (mOS): 219 vs. 68 months, P<0.01]. Postoperative radiotherapy could improve long-term survival and decrease the risk of death among patients who survive exceed 10-year after surgery. The Cox regression analysis showed that old age (>60 years) and lymph node metastases were independently associated with poor survival (P<0.05 for both). Conversely, the use of surgery was an independent favorable prognostic factor [hazard ratio (HR) 0.29, 95% CI: 0.13-0.66]. LEC-SG patients had a favorable prognosis with a mOS of 206 months. Old age, lymph node metastases, the use of surgery were independently associated with survival of LEC-SG patients.

Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma of Salivary Gland EBV-association in Endemic versus Non-Endemic Patients: A Report of 16 Cases.

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands (LECSG) are rare neoplasms, reported in endemic populations (southeastern Chinese) with a strong Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) association. A retrospective series comparing EBV status within an ethnically diverse population (endemic vs. non-endemic patients) has not been reported. Sixteen LECSG were equally distributed between males (n = 8) and females (n = 8) with a median age of 54years (range 18 to 85years) at initial diagnosis. Ten patients were white, 4 Asian, and 2 black. The patients typically presented with swelling or mass for an average of 11.6months. Tumors affected only major salivary glands: parotid (n = 13); submandibular (n = 3). Tumors were an average of 2.9cm (range 1.5 to 5.8cm). Nine of 16 (56%) patients had cervical lymph node metastases at presentation. No patients had nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal tumors. Microscopically, the tumors were widely infiltrative, characterized by large polygonal to spindled cells arranged in a syncytial, lattice-like network in a background of lymphoplasmacytic cells. The neoplastic cells showed an open-vesicular nuclear chromatin to a more basaloid-morphology, the latter showing hyperchromatic nuclei and less cytoplasm, whilenearly all of the cases hadassociated lymphoepithelial lesions/sialadenitis. By in situ hybridization, 8 of 16 cases had a strong, diffuse EBER expression (4 of 4 Asians; 4 of 12 non-Asians), while with immunohistochemistry all cases tested were pan-cytokeratin, CK5/6 and p63 reactive; none of the cases tested were p16 reactive. All patients were managed with wide or radical excision, 4 with concurrent chemoradiation, and 6 with radiation alone. Distant metastasis (lung, brain, and bone) developed in 2 patients. Overall follow-up (mean 3.8years) revealed 12 patients alive and 2 dead, none with evidence of disease (mean 4.3years); one white male alive with disease at 1.9years, and one Asian female dead of disease at 4.2years; both of theselatter patients had Group IV stage disease. High stage (GroupIV) patientshad a shorter mean survival than lower stage patients: 3.1 versus 4.8years, respectively. In conclusion,LECSG are uncommon primary neoplasms. Concurrent lymphoepithelial lesions may help suggest a primary tumor. The tumors, irrespective of race or ethnicity, may express EBER. There is an overall good survival, perhaps better for EBV-negative patients and for those with lower stage disease.

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands: CT and MR imaging findings.

To depict the CT and MRI characteristics of salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) and provide more diagnostic information for this malignancy. 103 salivary gland LEC subjects were retrospectively reviewed. The subjects include 35 males with a mean age of 40.8 years and 68 females with a mean age of 49.4 years. Of the 103 subjects, 86 had carcinomas in the parotid gland, 5 in the submandibular gland, 1 in the sublingual gland, 3 in the cheek and 8 in the palate. All subjects underwent routine CT and MRI (plain and contrast-enhanced scans) prior to surgical treatment and histopathological examination. Based on the pathological outcomes, all the salivary gland LECs were classified into two types from CT and MRI scans: solitary LEC (56 cases, 54.4%) and multiple LEC (47 cases, 45.6%). The latter included solitary salivary gland LEC with extraglandular lymph-node metastases (12 cases), parotid gland LEC with ipsilateral intraglandular lymph-node metastases (11 cases), parotid gland LEC with ipsilateral intra- and extraglandular lymph-node metastases (23 cases) and bilateral parotid gland LEC (1 case). The salivary gland LEC was depicted on CT and MRI scans as a lobular mass in 64 of 104 (61.5%), homogeneous mass in 65 of 104 (62.5%) or enhanced neoplasm in 94 of 104 (90.4%). Salivary gland LEC has a predilection for females in the fourth to fifth decade of life and the parotid gland. CT and MRI findings between solitary and multiple salivary LECs vary. A majority of multiple parotid gland LECs are characterized by metastasis of ipsilateral intraglandular lymph nodes, which may accompany with or without extraglandular lymph-node metastases.

Analysis of the lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary gland: 12 cases report

Objective:To improve recognization of clinical, imaging and pathological characteristics of lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) of the salivary glands.Method:The clinical manifestations, imaging features, histological and immunohistochemical characteristics of LEC of the salivary glands (n = 12) between 2003 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed.Result: Four cases of male and 8 cases of female were enrolled, and the average age of 53.25 years. Ten lesions were located in the parotid gland, and 2 cases were in the submandibular gland. Two cases were unilateral multiple tumors, 10 cases were unilateral solitary tumor, 4 cases were with cervical lymph node metastasis and 1 case was with peripheral facial paralysis. Ten patients had positive EB VCA IgA test. Homogeneous density and obvious enhancement were achieved in all lesions on CT scan. 8 cases were with irregular shapes, partially or ill-defined margin, and heterogeneous enhancement. Incomplete capsule was found in 4 cases, while no obvious capsule was found in 6 cases. HE staining showed that the infiltrative tumors were formed by the presence of sheets or nests of epithelial cells and interstitial lymphoid tissue. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed that the epithelial cells were reactive for pan CK, the lymphoid cells showed reactivity for both CD20 and CD3 markers. All cases underwent primary tumor and involved gland resection with ipsilateral neck dissection, and postoperative radiotherapy, and 2 cases combined with postoperative chemotherapy. The 3 year survival rate of patients was 75.0%(9/12), and 3 cases died of local recurrence or (and) distant metastasis within 1-2 years of definite diagnosis.Conclusion: LEC of salivary gland is associated with EB virus infection. Most cases present with unilateral solitary mass, and incidence of regional lymph node involvement is high. The imaging characteristics of tumor seem to be malignant on CT scan in most cases. Treatment includes multimodality therapy including surgical resection, neck dissection, and radiotherapy. Local recurrence and distant metastasis are the main causes of death.

A Rare Case of Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma of Salivary Gland in a Patient of Indian Origin

A Rare Case of Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma of Salivary Gland in a Patient of Indian Origin

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary gland: morphologic patterns and imaging features on CT and MRI.

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma is a rare salivary gland lesion. We retrospectively reviewed CT and MR imaging features of salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma to determine their imaging features and morphologic patterns. The clinical data, CT, and MR imaging findings of 28 patients with histologically proved lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary gland were retrospectively reviewed. Morphologic patterns of the lesions were categorized into 3 types on the basis of margin and shape. There were 17 men and 11 women with a mean age of 39.3 years; 96.4% of patients were positive for Epstein-Barr virus both on histologic staining and Epstein-Barr virus serology. Tumors were parotid in 18 patients, submandibular in 8 patients, sublingual in 1 patient, and palatal in 1 patient. Most tumors (57.1%) manifested as a partially or ill-defined mass with a lobulated or plaque-like shape. Homogeneous enhancement was found in 16 patients, while heterogeneous enhancement was found in 12, including 4 patients with intratumoral necrosis. Invasion into adjacent structures was found in 5 patients; 60.7% of patients exhibited abnormal lymph nodes, with nodal necrosis in 3 patients. The characteristic lobulated or plaque-like shape, with a partially or ill-defined margin, of a salivary gland mass associated with ipsilateral lymphadenopathy may suggest a preoperative diagnosis of lymphoepithelial carcinoma.

PP137: A prospective study of 38 cases major salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma treated by surgical resection and extensive field postoperative radiotherapy: A single institution experience

To analyze our treatment experience of patients with major salivary gland Lymphoepithelial carcinoma who had undergone surgical resection and extensive field Postoperative Radiotherapy (PORT). Patients with primary lymphoepithelial carcinoma in major salivary gland treated at our department between September 2005 and December 2011 were analyzed. All the patients were definitive diagnosed based on histopathology after excluding nasopharyngeal carcinoma. They were all treated with surgical resection followed by extensive field PORT. We delivered a total median dose of 60 Gy,54 Gy at 2 Gy per fraction to the tumor bed and the elective neck lymphatics, respectively. The relevant clinical characteristics were accessed by univariate and multivariate analysis. Our primary endpoint was disease-free survival (DFS) and it was calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. A total of 38 patients were enrolled in our group. Among them TNM stage distribution was: stage I in seven patients, stage II in nine patients, stage III in six patients, stage IV in 16 patients. The median follow-up period was 37.5 months (range, 11–84 months). The 1-and 3-years estimate of disease-free survival were 94.6% and 91.1%, respectively. During the period, only one patient died. We found the number of positive lymph node was correlated with the DFS by multivariate analysis. The status of nerve invasion was correlated with the DFS by univariate analysis. Patients with SGLEC treated with surgery plus PORT achieved relatively good survival. The worse prognosis was related to the positive lymph node number. The role of adjuvant systemic or targeted therapy in patients with positive lymph node should be investigated in future trials.

A Spectrum of Basaloid Morphology in a Subset of EBV-Associated “Lymphoepithelial Carcinomas” of Major Salivary Glands

Nasopharyngeal carcinomas of the undifferentiated or lymphoepithelial type are most commonly seen in South East Asians. Identical tumors have also been described at a variety of other sites including lung, skin and salivary gland and have been referred to by a number of names including lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC). LECs of major salivary gland are extremely rare. They are particularly common amongst the Inuit populations of the arctic region including Greenland (Denmark), Canada and Alaska, as well as South East Asians. Within the Inuit group, this tumor represents the majority of all salivary gland carcinomas. Amongst primary LEC of major salivary gland, most cases reported in the literature have represented typical nasopharynx-like tumors. Variants of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) associated LEC have not been described previously, to the best of our knowledge. In this report, we describe 4 EBV-associated major salivary gland LECs with prominent basaloid morphology, which represent 22% of a cohort of 18 salivary LECs from an Inuit population in Greenland. The features described in these cases raise a differential diagnosis of other basaloid tumors, particularly in light of the salivary gland location. A basaloid variant of LEC in major salivary gland should be recognized, especially in highly prone populations, to avoid misdiagnosis of other more common salivary tumors.

Lymphoepithelial Carcinomystery: A Curious Case of a Rare Parotid Tumor

Lymphoepithelial Carcinomystery: A Curious Case of a Rare Parotid Tumor

Postoperative Radiotherapy with Extensive Fields to Treat Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma of Major Salivary Glands: A Prospective Single Institute Analysis of 32 Patients

(1) To evaluate the role of extensive-field postoperative radiotherapy treating lymphoepithelial carcinoma of major salivary glands (2) To identify patterns of failure and important clinical/pathologic prognostic factors for optimal treatment of lymphoepithelial carcinoma. Clinical data of 32 patients with pathologically confirmed primary lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland and excluding of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by MRI and nasopharyngoscope examination, treated in the Fudan University from 2005 to 2009, was examined and enter this study. The 2002 AJCC staging for major salivary glands carcinomas was used to retrospectively stage these patients. The prescription doses of postoperative radiotherapy ranged from 6000 cGy to 6600 cGy. A forward-planned multisegment 3DCRT technique was used which can spare the contra lateral salivary glands, eyes, spinal cord and brainstem. All treatment plans were normalized to achieve 95% volume coverage of the target by the prescription dose. The target volume include the operative bed and ipsilateral level Ib, II and III cervical lymph nodes for N0 patients, Ia nodes were not routinely irradiated except for the submandibular glands cases. Ipsilateral whole neck was treated for any N+ patients. The survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier curves. All these analysis were calculated on the platform of SPSS software version 13th. The median age at presentation was 46.5 years. The median follow-up was 15.3 months. Twenty-one males and 11 females accounted for 21% stage I, 37% stage II, 24% stage III, and 18% stage IV disease. Three patients (9.4%) had positive surgical margins or residual lesion and 8 (25%) had cervical lymph node involvement. Locoregional recurrence occurred in 2 patients, one was in the primary site, and another one developed recurrence outside the treatment field. A total of 4 distant metastases were found, including 1 bone, 1 lung, 1 both and 1 nasal cavity. Among of them, the patient with lung metastasis died during this follow-up. The 2-year survival rate was 82.2% for all the patients. The 2-year disease free survival rate was 87.5%. The extensive-field postoperative radiotherapy provided an exciting local control outcome for lymphoepithelial carcinoma of major salivary glands. A relative high frequency of distant metastasis may indicate the potential of chemotherapy.

Nucleotide Sequences and Functions of the Epstein-Barr Virus Latent Membrane Protein 1 Genes Isolated from Salivary Gland Lymphoepithelial Carcinomas

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma (SLEC) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). EBV is a ubiquitous herpes virus world wide, but EBV-associated SLEC and NPC are prevalent in restricted regions such as south areas of China, Southeastern Asia and Greenland (Eskimos). To examine whether particular EBV variants play roles in the development of SLEC and NPC, we isolated the complete EBV LMP1 genes from 12 paraffin-embedded biopsy samples of SLECs isolated from China, Taiwan and Russia, and compared these LMP1 genes with those of NPC (CAO) and the prototype B95-8 EBV. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that SLECs LMP1 is more similar to that of CAO than that of prototype B95-8. The analysis also identified several conserved (67-100%) variations in SLEC-LMP1 and CAO-LMP1 distinct from B95-8-LMP1. These included 10-amino acid deletion, 5-amino acid deletion and 12-single amino acid variations. A SLEC-LMP1 gene with the aforementioned conserved variations inhibited the growth of an embryonic kidney cell line (293T), highly activated the NF-kappaB pathway, and these activities were equivalent to those of B95-8 and CAO. These findings suggest that the biological functions of SLEC-LMP 1 are similar to those of B95-8-LMP1 and CAO-LMP1, and that these amino acid variations including the well-known 10-aa deletion did not affect these two prominent activities. While the present results could not uncover functional differences between SLEC-LMP1 and B95-8-LMP1, the nucleotide sequences and the molecular clone of LMP1 directly isolated from SLEC patients will be a useful tool to identify the high-pathogenic EBV strain(s), associated with SLEC and NPC.

30-bp Deletion in latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1) oncogene in lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands

Objective: To investigate the 30 bp deletion in LMP-1 in lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands, and to clarify the deletion rate. Methods: 46 cases of LEC were subjected to PCR examination for the 3′ terminal region of LMP-1 gene, in order to observe the 30 bp deletion. To reduce the influence of unsuccessful DNA extraction from paraffin-embedded tissue sections, a β-actin PCR was performed at the same time. Additionally, DNA sequencing was performed on 1 case without deletion and 1 case with deletion. Results: 4 of 46 specimens were proved to contain no suitable DNA sample by β-actin gene amplification. In the remaining 42 cases, LMP-1 DNA was detected in 35/42 (83.3%) LEC cases. Two kinds of PCR products were found in these 35 cases after further DNA sequencing. 31 cases (88.6%) carried 316 bp product and 4 cases (11.4%) carried 286 bp product. Conclusion: Some LECs of salivary glands carry del-LMP-1. In our study, the deletion rate was 11.4% (4/35).

Thirty base pair (30 bp) deletion in latent membrane protein 1 oncogene in lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary glands

To investigate 30 bp deletion of latent membrane protein (LMP)-1 gene in lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) of the salivary glands and to determine the frequency of this deletion. Forty-six cases of salivary gland LEC were investigated by PCR to explore the site specific, 30 bp deletion in the 3' terminal region of LMP-1 gene. To guarantee amplifiable DNA extracted from paraffin-embedded tissue sections, PCR amplification of a house-keeping gene (beta-actin) was performed simultaneously. In addition, DNA sequencing of the PCR product was performed in representative cases. Although amplifiable DNA was obtained in 42 of the 46 specimens, as indicated by beta-actin gene amplification, successful amplification of LMP-1 gene was achieved in 35/42 (83.3%) cases. Two types of PCR products of LMP-1 gene were observed and confirmed by DNA sequencing. A wild-type PCR product (316 bp) was present in 31 cases (88.6%) and only 4 cases (11.4%) showed an aberrant 286 bp PCR product, corresponding to the 3' terminal 30 bp deletion of the gene. Site-specific 30 bp deletion of LMP-1 gene is not a common feature of salivary gland LEC.

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland — cytologic, histologic, immunocytochemical, and in situ hybridization features in a case

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland — cytologic, histologic, immunocytochemical, and in situ hybridization features in a case

Fine needle aspiration biopsy findings in lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland.

To study the fine needle aspiration cytology of lymphoepithelial carcinoma of salivary gland (LECSG). Needle aspirates from five primary and two metastatic LECSGs were reviewed. Three aspirates showed very scant cellularity with rare tumor cells originally misinterpreted as lymphohistiocytic cells. Six fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNABs) contained medium to large polygonal and spindled cells with one or more prominent nucleoli. Five aspirates also displayed a heterogeneous population of lymphoid cells, while a sixth had much necrotic debris and only a few lymphocytes admixed with tumor cells. In the clinical setting of an Inuit or Chinese patient with a salivary gland mass, an FNAB with these features should suggest the possibility of LECSG.