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Primary sebaceous carcinoma of the tongue

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Abstract

Sebaceous carcinoma is the rarest type of oral malignancies. We report a case of primary sebaceous carcinoma of the tongue. Systemic imaging studies revealed that the patient had a T2N2cM0 (International Union Against Cancer guidelines) primary lingual tumor. Histopathological examination revealed neoplastic sebocytic and basaloid cells, and Sudan III staining and electron microscopy revealed intracytoplasmic lipid droplets. The neoplastic cells stained positive for adipophilin; epithelial membrane antigen; epithelial antigen; and cytokeratins 7, 8, and 15, but negative for cytokeratins 5/6, 18, 19, and 20; the androgen receptor; and carcinoembryonic antigen. Superselective intraarterial chemotherapy was administered via the superficial temporal artery concurrent with daily radiotherapy. Multiple biopsies confirmed a complete response of the primary lesion. The patient then underwent neck dissection followed by pathological examination, which revealed lymph nodes metastases. After postoperative radiotherapy to the neck, distant metastases were identified in the mediastinal lymph nodes and the lung. The patient died 17 months after completing the initial course of chemoradiotherapy. Our case demonstrates that superselective intraarterial chemotherapy combined with concurrent radiotherapy can be effective in treating the primary lesion of patients with a sebaceous carcinoma of the tongue. However, an effective strategy to eradicate metastases has yet to be established.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Yokohama City University Hospital, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0004, Japan

    Hisashi Oshiro, Yoji Nagashima, Shoji Yamanaka, Michiyo Kanazawa, Hiromi Sagawa, Kazuhiro Mita, Takashi Nakayama & Yoshiaki Inayama

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Yokohama City University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan

    Toshinori Iwai, Makoto Hirota, Kenji Mitsudo, Iwai Tohnai & Takafumi Fukui

  3. Department of Radiology, Yokohama City University Hospital, Kanagawa, Japan

    Ryogo Minamimoto & Motoko Omura-Minamisawa

Authors
  1. Hisashi Oshiro
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  2. Toshinori Iwai
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  3. Makoto Hirota
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  4. Kenji Mitsudo
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  7. Motoko Omura-Minamisawa
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  8. Yoji Nagashima
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  9. Shoji Yamanaka
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  10. Takafumi Fukui
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  11. Michiyo Kanazawa
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  12. Hiromi Sagawa
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  13. Kazuhiro Mita
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  14. Takashi Nakayama
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  15. Yoshiaki Inayama
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hisashi Oshiro.

Additional information

H. Oshiro and T. Iwai contributed equaly to this study.

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Oshiro, H., Iwai, T., Hirota, M. et al. Primary sebaceous carcinoma of the tongue. Med Mol Morphol 43, 246–252 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-010-0521-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-010-0521-4

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