Lymphoepithelioma-Like Carcinoma of the Breast: A Case Report Unveiling Several Clinical and Histopathological Challenges

Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma of the Breast

Lymphoepithelial malignancy is an extremely rare carcinoma of the breast characterized by a confusing histopathological picture resembling medullary carcinomas, lymphoma, etc. It has also been reported in other regions of the body like salivary glands, nasopharyngeal area and sometimes the lung. Due to its rare presence and difficult diagnosis, the treatment is often prolonged and delayed. Here we present a case report of a 56-year-old lady who was eventually diagnosed as lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the breast. Her journey of evaluation and treatment was fraught with pathological nuances and an elimination drill of multiple differentials before concluding this rare diagnosis. Although lymphoepithelial-like carcinoma is a rare entity, multiple cases have been reported in the literature and their review is mandated to further our clinical knowledge about the oncological treatment and expected prognosis of such cases in the future. Our patient underwent a simple mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and is completely asymptomatic now. She has been cancer-free for the last seven years so far.

Lymphoepithelioma-Like Carcinoma of the Breast: A Case Report of a Rare Type of Invasive Carcinoma

Lymphoepithelioma carcinoma (LELC) is an extremely rare type of mammary cancer. Based on the histology, it can be misdiagnosed with inflammatory lesions like mastitis and medullary carcinoma or other hematopoietic neoplasms like lymphoma in the breast. Since LELC has a good response to chemotherapy with a good prognosis, t is prognostically important to recognize LELC.

We report a rare case of LELC in a 51-year-old pre-menopausal female with a left breast mass, diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), LELC type, treated with mastectomy, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy, with a disease-free interval of 10 months. Herein, we present the case with its clinical presentation, radiologic imaging, histopathological features, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) findings. The rarity of this type of breast tumor warrants studying the behavior of these uncommon tumors to avoid misdiagnosis and establish well-defined criteria for diagnosis.