Lymphoepithelioma-like Carcinoma of Rectum: Possible Relation with EBV

doi:10.1078/0344-0338-00130

Pathology - Research and Practice

Volume 197, Issue 8, 2001, Pages 577-582

https://doi.org/10.1078/0344-0338-00130 Get rights and content

Summary

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LEC) of the colon is very rare. Here we report a case of LEC originating in the rectum that was closely associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. The histologic and immunohistologic features, namely, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with lymphoid stroma, showed this tumor to be an LEC. The EBV genome was detected by PCR using DNA obtained from tumor tissue sections. Immunohistochemically, EBV-determined nuclear antigen 2 was detected in the tumor cells, and in situ hybridization using EBV-encoded small RNAs probe showed positive labeling in some tumor cells together with a few stromal lymphoid cells. There are some reports of LEC cases that originated in the colon; however, a relation with EBV was not demonstrated. We report here a case of LEC of the rectum demonstrating a possible relation with EBV.

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Cited by (29)

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the large intestine: A case report and literature review
2018, Revista Espanola de Patologia
Citation Excerpt :
These tumors are associated with microsatellite instability (MSI). Major studies on medullary carcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract concluded that these tumors have an organoid, solid, sheet-like or trabecular pattern with peri and intratumoral lymphocytes and consist of round to polygonal cells with high nuclear/cytoplasmic ratios and rounded nuclei with small central nucleoli.5,6 LECs and LELCs are made up of small clusters and aggregates of tumor that are broken up by large numbers of intratumoral lymphocytes.
Lymphoepithelioma like carcinoma (LELC) is a well-known neoplastic lesion that mainly involves the stomach and which has been linked to Epstein Barr virus infection. There are exceptional cases of intestinal involvement by LELC, with 7 reported cases to date.
We report a new case of LELC affecting the right colon and review the literature on this rare disorder, with special emphasis on pathogenesis, molecular features and differential diagnosis.
El carcinoma tipo linfoepitelioma es una entidad conocida que suele afectar al estómago y se ha relacionado con infección por el virus de Epstein-Barr. La afectación intestinal es mucho más infrecuente, y en la literatura en inglés se han publicado solo 7 casos hasta la fecha.
Describimos un caso de carcinoma tipo linfoepitelioma que afectó al colon derecho y realizamos una revisión de la literatura con especial énfasis en su patogenia, características moleculares y diagnóstico diferencial.
Lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid gland arising in an intraglandular lymph node: Report of a rare case mimicking metastasis
2012, Annals of Diagnostic Pathology
Citation Excerpt :
The term LEC was first used by Hilderman in 1962 [11], and it denotes as a variant of nonkeratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma that is associated with a characteristic dense lymphoid stroma. Apart from NP, where it is most commonly seen, LEC has been described in a whole range of organs such as salivary glands, thymus, stomach, lung, skin, larynx, floor of the mouth, uterine cervix, tonsil, sinonasal tract, lacrimal gland, breast, extrahepatic bile duct, pancreas, renal pelvis, thyroid, ovary, urinary bladder, prostate, Bartholin gland, ureter, mandible, vagina, rectum, trachea, and kidney [1,3,12-27]. Especially in endemic areas, EBV is strongly associated with LEC occurring in most sites, and there is virtually a 100% association with LEC (nonkeratinizing; differentiated and undifferentiated subtypes) occurring in the NP and salivary glands [2-4].
A case of Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) developed in the rectum
2019, Reports of Practical Oncology and Radiotherapy
Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is histologically similar in form to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and is an epithelial tumor that is suggested to be involved in infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), but it is rare to occur in the colon. A 35-year-old woman was found to have a rectal wall thickening by follow-up computed tomography (CT) image after sigmoidectomy and left salpingo-oophorectomy. Biopsy under colonoscopy revealed recurrence of ovarian cancer, and she underwent a low anterior resection. Pathological diagnosis was LELC. Although LELC of the stomach has been reported to have a high EBV infection rate as NPC, EBV infection was not detected in our case. Pelvic lymph node dissection was also performed, and metastasis was recognized around the iliac artery. There have been few reports of LELC occurring in the rectum, and there are no reports of distant metastasis only to the pelvic lymph node. We consider it a very valuable case, and report it with literature references.
Human Papillomavirus-Associated Lymphoepithelioma-Like Carcinoma of the Anal Canal: A Case Report and Literature Review
2021, Frontiers in Medicine
A case of Epstein–Barr virus-associated lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the colon
2021, Pathology International
HPV-16-associated lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma mimicking rectal tonsil
2021, Clinical Journal of Gastroenterology

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Lymphoepithelioma-like Carcinoma of Rectum: Possible Relation with EBV

Summary

Lancet

Hum Pathol

Hum Pathol

J Urol

Path Res Pract

Characterization of a T-lymphocyte Epstein-Barr virus/C3d receptor (CD21)

J Virol

Nasal T-cell lymphoma causally associated with Epstein-Barr virus. Clinicopathologic, phenotypic, and genotypic studies

Cancer

Epstein-Barr virus associated undifferentiated carcinoma of the parotid gland

Histopathology

The role of Epstein-Barr virus in lymphoepithelioma-like carcinomas

Am J Clin Pathol

Report of the workshop on nasal and related extranodal angiocentric T/natural killer cell lymphomas: Definitions, differential diagnosis, and epidemiology

Am J Surg Pathol

Incidence of latent infection of Epstein-Barr virus in lung cancers. An analysis of EBER-1 expression in lung cancers by in situ hybridization

J Pathol