Liposarcoma circumscriptum (lipoma-like) of the tongue: report of a case

Liposarcoma, first described by Virchow in 1857, is the second most frequent sarcoma of soft tissues, although it is rare both in the head and neck and the oral cavity. Intra-orally, liposarcoma has been reported in the jawbones (particularly the maxilla) and the soft tissues -- mainly the cheek and floor of mouth, but it is rare in the tongue. A case of well-differentiated, superficial liposarcoma circumscriptum of the tongue is reported. The authors underline the difficulties in the clinical and histopathological diagnosis, as this tumour may be confused with lipoma. In view of the indolent behaviour of this tumour type, local recurrence or metastasis rarely occur; consequently, conservative surgical therapy is advised without adjuvant chemo-radio therapy.