Lymphoepithelioma-like hepatocellular carcinoma: A case report and brief review of literature

RATIONAL: Lymphoepithelioma-like hepatocellular carcinoma (LEL-HCC) is a rare variant of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To date, few cases have been reported in the literature, and almost no report in analyzing the different features of LEL-HCC. PATIENT CONCERNS: We describe a 37-year-old female patient with a 32 × 30 mm mass in the right liver. INTERVENTIONS: Complete surgical resection of the lesion was performed. DIAGNOSES: Histopathological examination of the resected tumor revealed undifferentiated HCC cells with significant lymphocytes infiltration. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for AFP (alpha fetoprotein), hepatocyte, CK8, and glypican-3. The patient was diagnosed with LEL-HCC. OUTCOMES: The patient had a favorable clinical outcome, and was free from tumor recurrence after a 52-months follow-up. LESSONS: Our case was the youngest patient of all the reported cases, and the third case who was infected with both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). LEL-HCC is a rare variant of HCC, with a relatively favorable prognosis. Further research recruiting more patients is required to determine the accurate causes and mechanism of LEL-HCC.