Chondroma of Tongue: A Rare Case Report & Review of Literature

Abstract

Chondromas are common benign cartilaginous tumours in the skeletal system usually found in extremities. Extra skeletal chondromas are relatively uncommon of which those in head and neck regions are rarely documented. Although the tongue is one of the most common sites of oral soft tissue chondroma, lingual chondromas are rare as evidenced by the fact that only 33 cases are identified in the review of literature till now. This report has the objective of presenting a rare case of lingual enchondroma in a 26-year-old male which was excised with no evidence of recovery during follow up. We have also tried to present a concise review of the relevant literature.

A report of an unusual case of cartilaginous choristoma of the tongue and review

“…Most cases are characterized by nodular, ovoid and firm growths, ranging from 0.5 to 4.0 cm in diameter. In the present case, the 72‐year‐old female patient exhibited a firm nodular lesion on the dorsum of the tongue, resembling the clinical cartilaginous choristoma aspects reported in the literature 2–4,13,15 …”

“…Regarding the adopted therapeutic approach, in the present case, complete surgical removal of the involved tissue was performed, with no evidence of relapse after 12 months of follow‐up. All similar cases described in the literature had complete surgical removal, which reinforces the benign nature of this lesion and explains its low recurrence rates 2–4,13,15 …”

“…In the present case, the patient reported no persistent trauma or any other extrinsic factors. Most of the cartilaginous choristoma of the tongue reported in the literature present an embryogenic relationship, as reported herein 2,4,13 …”

“…However, it is of utmost importance to recognize cartilaginous choristoma in the immature stage and differentiate it from extraskeletal chondrosarcoma. Due to the absence of malignant features, such as pleomorphism, mitotic activity, irregular nuclear morphology, hyperchromatism, aberrant formation of the intercellular matrix and invasion of surrounding tissues, the final diagnosis was cartilaginous choristoma 2–4,13,15 …”

Chondroid choristoma of the tongue

“…[ 39 ] Absence of lobulated growth pattern, clusters of chondrocytic cells, and surrounding collagenous stroma excluded the diagnosis of chondroma. [ 30 40 ] Traumatic chondromatous metaplasia is seen in edentulous ridges as a result of chronic mechanical irritation from ill-fitting dentures. [ 1 ] In our case, the patient was dentulous, and hence, this differential diagnosis was ruled out.…”