Gastric lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma presenting as a sub-mucosal mass: a case report and literature review

Khizar Hayat; Yanhua Wu; Yufei Hu; Xiaofeng Zhang; Jianfeng Yang

Gastric lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma presenting as a sub-mucosal mass: a case report and literature review

Am J Transl Res. 2023 Apr 15;15(4):2561-2567. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Khizar Hayat^{1

2}, Yanhua Wu³, Yufei Hu³, Xiaofeng Zhang², Jianfeng Yang^{2

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, International Education College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang, China.
² Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang, China.
³ Department of Gastroenterology, The Fourth School of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Biliary and Pancreatic Diseases of Zhejiang Province Hangzhou 310006, Zhejiang, China.

PMID: 37193175
PMCID: PMC10182522

Abstract

Background: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the stomach (LELC), also known as carcinoma with lymphoid stroma of the stomach, is a rare type of gastric cancer, accounting for approximately 1-4% of all gastric cancers. It is mainly associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. Here, we report a case of gastric lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma presenting as a submucosal mass that tested negative for EBV.

Case description: a 70-year-old patient was diagnosed with a gastric mass through routine endoscopy. There was no abdominal pain, fever, hematemesis, chills, or other discomfort, and the patient had a history of hypertension. The complete blood count, blood chemistry, and tumor indices were normal, and the results for EBV infection were also negative. According to EUS, it was diagnosed as a gastric stromal tumor. The patient underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). Pathological exams suggested that it was a low-differentiated carcinoma, and surgical dissection was performed.

Conclusion: Cases of gastric LELC are rare, and clinicians need to improve their understanding of the disease to avoid misdiagnosis. The etiology and pathogenesis of this disease need further investigation.

Keywords: Gastric mass; case report; lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma; rare disease.