Benign lymphoepithelial lesions of the parotid include a spectrum of disorders ranging from lymphoepithelial sialadenitis (LESA) of Sjögren syndrome to lymphoepithelial cysts (LEC) and both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related and -unrelated cystic lymphoid hyperplasia (CLH). They share a common microscopic appearance characterized by epimyoepithelial islands and/or epithelial lined cysts in a lymphoid stroma. However, they differ greatly regarding their etiology, clinical presentation, and management.
The purpose of this study was to establish specific immunophenotypic profiles for these diverse disease entities.
Four cases of HIV+ CLH, 5 cases of HIV- CLH, 3 cases of LESA of Sjögren syndrome, and 3 cases of sporadic LEC were quantitatively analyzed for distribution of lymphoreticular cell subpopulations, using antibodies against CD20, CD45RO, CD4, CD8, CD57, and CD68.
The cystic lesions in both the HIV+ and HIV- cases were microscopically analogous. However, a marked decrease in the interfollicular CD4:CD8 ratio was observed in all HIV+ CLH cases, which was statistically significant when compared with the HIV- cases (P = .02) and cases of LESA of Sjögren syndrome (P = .03). No significant differences regarding the distribution of CD20+ B lymphocytes in epithelial cyst lining or the interfollicular or follicular distribution of CD20+, CD45RO+, CD57+, and CD68+ cells were present among the different groups.
Analysis of the interfollicular CD4:CD8 ratio may offer a simple immunophenotypic approach in the distinction of HIV+ from other lymphoepithelial lesions of the parotid gland, when HIV status is unknown and p24 immunohistochemistry is not readily available.