The Journal of the Japanese Association for Chest Surgery
Online ISSN : 1881-4158
Print ISSN : 0919-0945
ISSN-L : 0919-0945
Two cases of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung in elderly patients
Hiroshi YaginumaAtsushi YonechiMitsunori HiguchiRyuzo KannoAkio OishiHiroyuki Suzuki
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2014 Volume 28 Issue 1 Pages 102-108

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Abstract

Background: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) of the lung is a rare entity. It is classified as a variant of large cell carcinoma, and its development is believed to involve Epstein-Barr (EB) virus infection. Case 1: An abnormal chest shadow was seen on the chest radiograph of an 83-year-old woman during a medical checkup. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a 19×19-mm tumor in the right upper lobe of the lung. Bronchoscopic brushing cytology revealed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. She underwent a right upper lobectomy involving video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. She was diagnosed with LELC, and in-situ hybridization for EB virus small RNA 1 (EBER1) was weakly positive. She has been healthy without recurrence for 29 months since the surgery. Case 2: An abnormal chest shadow was seen on the chest radiograph of an 84-year-old man during a medical checkup. A chest CT scan revealed a 22×20-mm tumor in the left S6 segment. Bronchoscopic brushing cytology revealed a large cell carcinoma. He underwent left S6 segmentectomy, a limited surgery, because of a poor respiratory function. The histopathological diagnosis was LELC, and in-situ hybridization for EBER1 was negative. He has been healthy without recurrence for 4 months since the surgery. Conclusions: Only 17 cases of pulmonary LELC (including these 2 cases) have been reported in Japan. Previous reports have stated that the average age of patients with pulmonary LELC is lower than that of those with standard lung cancer, and that there were no patients aged over 80 years.

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© 2014 The Japanese Association for Chest Surgery
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