Guiqin Chen: Department of Radiology, Medical Imaging Center of Guizhou Province, the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China.
Qiane Yu: Department of Radiology, Medical Imaging Center of Guizhou Province, the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China.
Haifeng Ran: Department of Radiology, Medical Imaging Center of Guizhou Province, the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China.
XuHong Li: Department of Radiology, Medical Imaging Center of Guizhou Province, the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China.
Tijiang Zhang: Department of Radiology, Medical Imaging Center of Guizhou Province, the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China. tijzhang@163.com.
BACKGROUND: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung is a rare primary malignancy of the lung, accounting for only 0.9% of primary malignancies of the lung. Those associated with cavities are even rarer, with fewer than five cases reported in the English literature. Concurrently, the imaging findings of tumors are usually non-specific, resulting in insufficient understanding of the disease by clinicians, thus leading to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: A 42-year-old female presented with a right lower lung mass with cavities. First identified on chest computed tomography (CT) in 2021, the mass persisted for 1 year and subsequently enlarged on chemotherapy and routine follow-up CT. Right lower lobectomy was then performed. Postoperative pathology confirmed primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma. After 10 months of follow-up, the patient was still alive and no recurrence was observed. CONCLUSIONS: This article aims to describe a rare case of cavitary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the lung and review it clinical and imaging characteristics reported in previous cases, which will be helpful for clinicians and imaging physicians in diagnosing this disease.
