Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma of the Salivary Gland: Morphologic Patterns and Imaging Features on CT and MRI

LEC of the right submandibular gland in a 53-year-old woman with a painless mass in the right neck for 1 year. Axial contrast-enhanced CT (A) shows an ill-defined mass in the right submandibular gland with heterogeneous moderate enhancement (arrow). An enlarged lymph node in level IIa is also noted and shows a homogeneous enhancement (arrowhead). Axial T2-weighted image (B) shows a heterogeneous slight hyperintensity mass with curvilinear and linear hypointensity within it (arrow) and an enlarged lymph node in level IIa (arrowhead). Gadolinium-enhanced axial T1-weighted image (C) and coronal T1-weighted image with fat saturation (D) show the mass with a heterogeneous enhancement with hypoenhanced strands within it. An enlarged region of the lymph node in level IIa is also noted and shows homogeneous enhancement (arrowhead).

LEC of the left sublingual gland in a 44-year-old woman with a painful mass in the mouth for 8 years. Axial T2-weighted imaging (A) shows a homogeneous slightly hypointensity mass with a partially defined margin in the left sublingual gland (arrow). Axial gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted image (B) shows the mass with homogeneous moderate enhancement (arrow). Histopathologic examination (C) shows nests of neoplastic epithelial cells separated by abundant lymphoid stroma (hematoxylin-eosin, original magnification × 100). In situ hybridization by using a digoxigenin-labeled EBER probe (D) shows the nuclei of the malignant epithelial cells strongly positive but negative in the surrounding lymphocytes (original magnification × 100).

LEC of the right upper palate in a 38-year-old man with a rapidly growing mass in the upper palate for approximately 8 months. Axial contrast-enhanced CT (A) shows the mass with a heterogeneous moderate enhancement (arrow). Sagittal (B) contrast-enhanced CT shows the mass with heterogeneous moderate enhancement (arrow) and bone destruction.