Lymphepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lacrimal gland

In this report a patient with a lymphoepithelioma (LE)-like carcinoma of the lacrimal gland is described for the first time in the literature. LE-like carcinomas outside the nasopharynx rarely occur in the major and minor lacrimal glands of natives of Greenland, Inuit or natives of southern China. The patient's tumor was extirpated using a Kronlein approach followed by total parotidectomy and modified radical neck dissection on the ipsilateral side after the detection of suspicious lymph nodes by ultrasound transmission. Adjuvant radiochemotherapy with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil was then carried out. Three years later there is no sign of recurrence. As a result of this case we recommend careful examination of the orbit and lacrimal gland in cases of LE-like cancer with an unidentified primary tumor.