Carcinoma of the dorsum of the tongue

Abstract

Background Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the anterior two thirds of the tongue is the second most common oral cancer, with the lateral border being the most common location. Squamous cell carcinoma of the dorsum of the tongue is exceedingly rare and has been described in the past as a myth or misdiagnosis. The clinical diagnosis of SCC on the dorsum of the tongue is difficult because it may be mimicked by a wide variety of benign and premalignant lesions, including granular cell myoblastoma, erosive lichen planus, medial rhomboid glossitis, and amyloidosis. In this study we re‐evaluate the entity of SCC of the dorsum of the tongue. Methods We reviewed 5 large series of carcinoma of the tongue, which include accurate documentation of the topographic location of the carcinoma. We also describe 5 cases of SCC of the dorsum of the tongue from our own series of 99 patients with carcinoma of the tongue. Results In all 6 series, carcinoma of the dorsum of the tongue was present in 3 to 5% of the carcinomas of the tongue. Conclusion Although rare, SCC of the dorsum of the tongue exists and may be mimicked by benign conditions, thus SCC should be suspected when diagnosing lesions of this area of the tongue. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 22: 190–194, 2000.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue Dorsum: Incidence and Treatment Considerations

“…SCC of the dorsal midline is even rarer and accounts for less than 1 % of tongue carcinomas [6,10]. In the present study, pathological re-examination of 368 patients with tongue cancer revealed only 3 with SCC of the dorsum, for an incidence of 0.8 %.…”

“…In the present study, pathological re-examination of 368 patients with tongue cancer revealed only 3 with SCC of the dorsum, for an incidence of 0.8 %. To our knowledge, only 17 cases, including our 3 cases, with SCC of the tongue dorsum have been well documented in the English language literature [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Among these 17 cases, the ratio of men to women was 1:1.43 (7 men and 10 women) and mean age was 60.8 years (range, 35-80 years).…”

“…Most tongue cancers occur on the lateral border, making cancer of the dorsum very rare, with an incidence of 2.9-5.0 % (Table 2) [1][2][3][4][5][6]. SCC of the dorsal midline is even rarer and accounts for less than 1 % of tongue carcinomas [6,10].…”

“…Clinically, SCC of the tongue dorsum may be difficult to suspect because it can resemble other lesions such as median rhomboid glossitis, granular cell myoblastoma, amyloidosis, and oral lichen planus [6,8,16]. In 1976, Ogus et al [16] investigated the original records of 302 cases of SCC of the tongue and performed pathological reexamination.…”

“…SCC of the tongue dorsum is very rare, especially at the midline [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Lesion of the dorsum might be overlooked or misdiagnosed as a more common benign lesion or oral manifestation of systemic disease [6,16].…”