A case of Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) developed in the rectum

Abstract

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.