Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the renal pelvis: Pathological and therapeutic implications

Abstract

A 75-year-old woman presented with a presumed urothelial carcinoma of the right renal pelvis. A radical nephroureterectomy was carried out and histological analysis of the specimen revealed lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma. This is the seventh reported case of this normally nasopharyngeal tumour found in the renal pelvis. These tumours have a distinct histological appearance comprising sheets of undifferentiated syncytial cells on a background of lymphoid stroma. We review the pathological features of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma and make arguments for managing these tumours in a similar way to urothelial carcinoma.

Lymphoepithelioma-like Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

“…In this report, we describe an exceedingly rare case of renal pelvic LELC with a distinct component of squamous cell carcinoma. Most cases of LELC of the urinary tract have been found in the urinary bladder and rare isolated cases have been reported in the urethra, ureter, and renal pelvis [ 2 ]. The renal pelvis is an extremely rare site for LELC.…”

“…Recently, Modi et al [ 2 ] reported a case of LELC of the renal pelvis with aspects of pathological and therapeutic implications. They summarized the characteristics of the reported seven cases of LELC of the renal pelvis.…”

“…According to the World Health Organization classification of urinary tract tumors, LELC has been classified as a distinct variant of urothelial carcinoma because it is derived from modified urothelial cells. LELC can be classified into three categories according to the proportion of LELC as pure (100% LELC), predominant (more than 50% LELC), and focal (less than 50% LELC) [ 2 ]. Tamas et al [ 3 ] reported a clinicopathological study of 30 pure and mixed LELCs of the urinary tract.…”

“…A carcinoma that shows similar histological features but arises outside the nasopharynx is called lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC). LELC has been described in a variety of organs including salivary glands, thymus, lungs, stomach, skin, uterine cervix, breast, prostate, and the urinary tract [ 2 ]. The renal pelvis is an extremely rare site for this tumor.…”

Lymphoepithelioma-like Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis–A Case Report and Literature Review

“…Zukerberg firstly reported 5 cases of bladder LELC in 1991 [8]. So far, 8 cases of kidney of LELC have been reported [7,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15], except one in the kidney, another seven cases in the renal pelvis. Reports with complete CT images at present in abroad are only three [10,13,16].…”