Multiple spindle cell lipomas of the tongue: report of a case

Spindle cell lipoma (SCL) is a relatively uncommon benign lipomatous tumor characterized by a mixture of mature adipocytes and bland spindle cells on a fibromyxoid background. These lipomas usually arise as solitary nodules in the subcutaneous tissue of the posterior neck, shoulder and back in adult men. Multiple SCLs account for 0.5% to 3% of all SCLs. In the literature, there have been 15 cases of intraoral SCL, including 6 cases of SCL in the tongue. We report a case of multiple SCLs on the bilateral margins of the tongue of a 75-year-old Japanese man. The tumors were removed surgically, and they exhibited the classic histopathological features of SCL, being well-circumscribed masses composed of a mixture of adipocytes and fibroblast-like spindle cells within a fibromyxoid stroma. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the spindle cells were strongly positive for CD 34 and bcl-2. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of multiple SCLs of the tongue.