Squamous cell carcinoma of the mandibular gingiva

Squamous cell carcinoma is a kind of epithelial tumor and the most common malignant tumor of the oral cavity. Clinically, it may be misdiagnosed because of its variable appearances. Carcinomas of the gingiva especially tend to present as having benign features, and this leads to delays in diagnoses or even to misdiagnoses. We had a patient with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the gingiva, and our initial impression was hyperplastic inflammatory tissue. This case demonstrates the importance of being highly suspicious of oral lesions which undergo malignant change, especially when they do not promptly respond to conventional therapy.