Metastatic Lymphoepithelioma-like Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Potential Diagnostic Pitfall and Demonstration of Pd-l1 Expression

Abstract

Lymphoepithelioma-like hepatocellular carcinoma (LEL-HCC) is a rare primary hepatic neoplasm with female predominance and relatively good prognosis. We report a 73-year-old female with chronic hepatitis B who developed metastatic lesions 5 years after underwent resection for LEL-HCC. The metastatic lesions showed a spectrum of morphologic findings, which could be mistaken for other entities such as lymphoma, particularly in lesions with single-cell infiltrative pattern and abundant tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. Im-munohistochemical study to confirm the origin of the neoplastic cells is important to make the diagnosis. We also highlighted the clin-icopathologic correlation and potential therapeutic implication of programmed death ligand-1 expression in LEL-HCC.

Keywords

• Lymphoepithelioma-like hepatocellular carcinoma
• Chronic hepatitis B
• Metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma
• Programmed death ligand-1