title: Primary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of salivary gland: sixty-nine cases with long-term follow-up.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) in the salivary glands is a rare but unique malignancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-nine patients with salivary gland LELC with long-term follow-up were reviewed for this study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 52 cases in the parotid gland and 17 cases in the submandibular gland. All patients underwent complete tumor excision, 41 underwent neck dissection, and 39 received postoperative radiotherapy. The 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year overall survival (OS) rates were 90%, 75%, and 54%, respectively. Patients with higher neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR ≥ 4.0) and advanced stage (stage III and IV) had significantly poorer OS. Patients who received postoperative radiotherapy had significantly better relapse-free survival (RFS). In multivariate analysis, stage, NLR, and neck dissection were associated independently with OS, whereas stage and postoperative radiotherapy were associated independently with RFS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Salivary gland LELC is a rare malignancy with a better prognosis that partially attributes to surgery with neck dissection and postoperative radiotherapy. Preoperative NLR is an independent prognostic factor.
authors: Department of Radiology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China/Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors: Huali
authors: H
authors: Ma
authors: Yongbin
authors: Y
authors: Lin
authors: Liang
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: Huilan
authors: H
authors: Rao
authors: Guangchuan
authors: G
authors: Xu
authors: Youjian
authors: Y
authors: He
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Liang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D037981:Neck Dissection; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012468:Salivary Gland Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma; neck dissection; neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio; postoperative radiotherapy; salivary gland