Spindle-Cell Sarcoma of the Tongue
A 54-year-old man presented to the oral and maxillofacial clinic with a 2-month history of difficulty chewing his food. He reported that during the preceding 2 months, a painless brown lesion had grown on his tongue in the center of a white patch that had been present for years. He had no history of smoking and did not drink alcohol. Examination of the oral cavity revealed a well-circumscribed hard mass, measuring 8 mm by 7 mm and surrounded by a white patch on the right side of the tongue. He had no palpable cervical lymphadenopathy. An incisional biopsy of the lesion revealed a high-grade, undifferentiated spindle-cell sarcoma. Spindle-cell sarcoma is a rare connective-tissue tumor that can grow rapidly. The patient underwent surgery, including a hemiglossectomy, and received adjuvant chemotherapy. At follow-up 1 year after the completion of chemotherapy, he had no evidence of recurrence and reported some mild difficulty with swallowing.
