Download PDF
Open Access
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · International Journal of Practical Otolaryngology 2025; 08(01): e26-e32
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1811576
Case Report

Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma of the Larynx: A Case Report

Authors

  • Michika Muta

    1   Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan

  • Kotaro Maeda

    1   Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan

  • Shunsuke Sato

    2   Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan

  • Yoshihiko Kumai

    1   Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
Further Information
Also available at
  Permissions and Reprints
Preview

Abstract

Lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) is a rare malignancy that histologically resembles nonkeratotic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Most head and neck LECs occur in the nasopharynx and are associated with Epstein–Barr virus infection, and non-nasopharyngeal LECs are extremely rare. Herein, we report a case of supraglottic LEC. The patient was a 73-year-old man in whom a laryngeal mass was incidentally detected during treatment for another disease. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed tumor invasion of the thyroid cartilage and a metastatic left cervical lymph node. The histological diagnosis was EBER(+) LEC, and the final diagnosis was supraglottic carcinoma (LEC, cT4aN2aM0). The patient was treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery. At present, 8 months after the surgery, the patient remains under observation with no postoperative treatment, and no evidence of recurrence has been observed. In general, virus-associated cancers often have a better prognosis than nonvirus-associated cancers; however, the association between the prognosis of non-nasopharyngeal LEC and viral infection is currently unclear. Our experience with this case suggests that non-nasopharyngeal LEC could be effectively treated according to the treatment protocol for conventional squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with or without viral infection.

Keywords

lymphoepithelial carcinoma - Epstein–Barr virus - nonkeratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma


Publication History

Received: 21 October 2024

Accepted: 29 May 2025

Article published online:
11 September 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany