Clinical analysis of 22 cases of lymphoepithelial carcinoma of parotid gland

To investigate the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid gland.

Data from 22 patients with parotid lymphoepithelial carcinoma from 2012 to 2019 were collected, and their clinical manifestations, imaging examinations, treatment methods and follow-up results were retrospectively analyzed.

Among the 22 patients, 8 were males and 14 were females. The patients ranged from 26 to 61 years old, with a complaint duration ranging from 3 days to 18 years. One patient had multiple unilateral lumps in the parotid gland, and the other 21 patients had single unilateral lumps in the parotid gland. All patients underwent preoperative spiral CT examination. CT showed a soft tissue lump in the parotid tissue, the internal density shadow was not uniform, the CT value ranged from 26 to 81 Hu, and 15 patients presented elliptical lesions with clear boundaries. Seven patients presented nodular lesions, and the boundary was not clear. The diagnosis of all cases was ultimately based on pathological examination. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining images showed active epithelial cell growth with atypia, mitotic figures could be seen, and abundant lymphocyte and plasma cell infiltration could be seen in the tumor stroma. All 22 patients received surgical treatment; 9 patients did not undergo cervical lymph node dissection. Twenty patients received adjuvant radiotherapy after surgery, and 10 of them received adjuvant chemotherapy at the same time. One patient only received chemotherapy after surgery, and one patient did not receive any other adjuvant therapy after surgery. All patients received follow-up visits. One patient died of liver metastasis 16 months after the operation, and the remaining patients survived without tumors for periods of 13 months to 8 years until the present.

Parotid lymphoepithelial carcinoma is a rare malignant tumor clinically. Pathology is still the gold standard for the diagnosis of lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid gland. Radical resection of the tumor is the first choice of treatment. Selective neck lymph node dissection and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy can obtain better therapeutic effects according to clinical examination, imaging examination and neck conditions.