Spontaneous regression of extranodal malignant lymphoma occurred in the gingiva

The spontaneous regression of malignant neoplasm is an extremely rare event. Here we report a case of extranodal malignant lymphoma occurring in the upper gingiva, which regressed spontaneously. A 78-year-old female had noticed a diffuse bucco-lingual swelling of the left maxillary gingiva in the incisor regions for a month, and she visited our department on 20 January 1999. Intraoral examination revealed diffuse swelling and redness in the maxillary gingiva of the incisor regions. Cervical and underarm lymphadenopathy was not detected. Surgical biopsy of the swollen gingiva revealed a malignant lymphoma, with diffuse large cells, B cell type. She was clinically staged as IE. After biopsy, the tumor spontaneously decreased in size; finally, the mass completely disappeared after 3 weeks. After regression, the lesions were externally irradiated with 30 Gy total dose. The patient has been free from disease for 36 months after regression.