INTRODUCTION: The oral lymphoepithelial cyst is a rare, asymptomatic lesion with small dimensions, commonly discovered during routine examination of the oral cavity. OBJECTIVE: To report four cases of oral lymphoepithelial cyst and compare their aspects with other 119 cases reported in the literature. CASE REPORT: Three cases in women, age range 16 to 23, and one case in a 45-year-old man, all of them presenting small, asymptomatic, yellowish-white nodules. Two cases were located in the ventral surface of the tongue, one in the buccal floor and one in the oropharynx. Histologically, the lesions showed cystic cavity with variable amount of desquamated epithelial cells, lined with a parakeratinized stratified squamous epithelium and a plane interface with the connective tissue. The fibrous capsule showed a dense lymphocyte infiltrate with germinal centers in only two cases. CONCLUSION: The analysis of the cases herein and the other 119 cases reported in the literature reveals that oral lymphoepithelial cysts present a predilection for males, with peak of incidence in the third decade of life. Characteristically, these lesions consist of small asymptomatic nodules located in the buccal floor. Histologically, most cases show a parakeratinized epithelial lining and germinal centers in the fibrous capsule.
Lymphoepithelial cyst; Oral cavity; Histopathology; Differential diagnosis
