The salivary glands, despite their relatively simple morphology,
give rise to more than 30 histologically distinct
benign and malignant tumors. Salivary gland neoplasms
comprise less than 2% of all tumors in humans and 3% of
all head and neck tumors. They arise in the parotid gland
in 80% of cases, and approximately 80% are benign and
20% are malignant. Among them are lymphoepithelial lesions,
rare lesions of the salivary glands and especially of
the parotid gland that are characterized by lymphocytic
infiltration associated with an epithelial proliferation. They
are divided into benign, which is considered as a tumorlike
condition, and malignant, which is a rare carcinoma of the
salivary glands. This article provides a review of the current
knowledge on lymphoepithelial carcinoma with a look at
its association with benign lesions and on the importance
of making the correct diagnosis for the appropriate treatment.
