Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the major salivary glands: Predictors of survival in a non-endemic region

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) is one of 24 subtypes of salivary gland cancers, a group of rare malignancies that together only represent 5% of head and neck cancers [1,2]. Salivary LEC is exquisitely rare and comprises only 0.4% of salivary cancers [3]. It shares similar histopathological features as non-keratinizing, undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC), but are found at other sites, most commonly in the parotid gland [4]. Knowledge of the subject is limited to case reports and small case series, most of which report female patients of Arctic Inuit (Eskimo), Southern Chinese, or Greenlandic descent with strong Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) involvement, thus suggesting a racial, gender, and geographic predilection to the disease [3–12].
Source: Oral Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research