[Lymphoepithelioma of the pharynx in children]

Through a period of thirteen years, eleven patients with pharyngeal lymphoepithelioma were treated at the Hospital Nacional de Niños, San José, Costa Rica. This represents 2.5% of all malignant tumors observed in the same period. Histologically, 10 cases were of the type described by Regaud and only one was of the Schmincke's type. Four patients were treated with cobalt only and the other seven received Co60 plus chemotherapy. Two patients of the first group are alive and without evidences of tumor 96 months later. Four of the seven patients of the second group have been incomplete remission for 5, 9, 24 and 96 months. All the patients who had partial remission and all those who relapsed died because of infiltration to the basis of the skull and/or metastases to long bones. All patients who had complete remission and did not have a relapse through a 24 month period, are alive and without evidences of tumor. Metastases to cervical lymph nodes at the moment of diagnosis did not influence the response to treatment or the prognosis. Three out of 5 patients with infiltration to the basis of the skull at the initial examination died. The other two are alive at 9 and 96 months post-treatment.