Cellular schwannoma in the oral mucosa

A case of cellular schwannoma of the oral mucosa in a 34-year-old Japanese man is described. Cellular schwannoma commonly affects soft tissues such as the retroperitoneum and posterior mediastinum, and also bone, but is extremely rare in the oral region. To our knowledge, this is only the second report of oral cellular schwannoma. Histologically, the tumor parenchyma consisted of hypercellular spindle cells with nuclear and cytoplasmic pleomorphism and nuclear palisading resembling Antoni A-type conventional schwannoma, without evidence of Verocay bodies. These features were indicative of cellular schwannoma. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for S-100, S-100alpha, S-100beta and vimentin, suggesting that they were of peripheral nervous origin. Furthermore, it is speculated that the tumor was intermediate between a benign and a malignant state, based on the histological features and positivity for S-100alpha.