LYMPHOEPITHELIOMA-LIKE CARCINOMA OF THE VAGINA - A CASE-REPORT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE IMMUNOPHENOTYPE OF THE TUMOR-CELLS AND TUMOR-INFILTRATING LYMPHORETICULAR CELLS

Lymphoepithelelial carcinoma (Schmincke's tumor) is a relatively common malignancy in the upper respiratory tract (nasopharynx), but it rarely occurs at other sites. We describe here the first case of a vaginal neoplasm that closely resembled lymphoepithelial carcinoma in its histological features and immunophenotype. The tumor was detected in an 81-year-old woman who presented with recur-rent vaginal bleeding. On colposcopy, an ulcerated polypoid tumor mass was seen in the posterior wall of the middle portion of the vagina. Histologic examination revealed an undifferentiated spindle-cell carcinoma (KL1+, chromogranin A-, vimentin-) with abundant lymphocytes (mostly UCHL1 + T cells), plasma cells, and macrophages (CD68 +) in and around the tumor cell nests. A minority of the tumor cells exhibited overexpression of p53 protein and a quar-ter of the tumor cells reacted with the antibody MIB1, that is, were in a proliferate state. The tumor cells did not react with the monoclonal antibody DAKO-EBV, which detects a latent membrane protein (LMP-1) encoded by the Epstein-Barr virus. The tumor underwent regression after radiotherapy. No signs of recurrence or dissemination of the carcinoma have been detected clinically during the 6 months since treatment.