Undifferentiated carcinoma of nasopharyngeal type of the laryngopharyngeal region.

Undifferentiated carcinoma of nasopharyngeal type (lymphoepithelioma) is an extremely rare malignancy in the laryngohypopharyngeal region. We found reports of only 13 such tumors in the English language literature. We present the findings of four additional cases, one hypopharyngeal and three laryngeal in origin. The three laryngeal tumors were characterized by submucosal spread. The tumors were classified T3 (2x) and T4 (2x) with cervical lymph node metastases at initial presentation in all cases. In three of our four cases the Epstein-Barr virus was demonstrated by the Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNAs in situ hybridization.