Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the mandible: report of two cases

Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma is a rare aggressive malignancy that is a distinct variant of squamous cell carcinoma. This report presents 2 cases of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma in the gingiva. Case 1 is a 55-year-old Japanese man who presented with a painful, red, and irregular mass on the left mandibular gingiva. Case 2 is a 65-year-old Japanese man who presented with a painless mass on the right mandibular gingiva. Both tumors were diagnosed histopathologically as basaloid squamous cell carcinoma. In case 1, the patient underwent wide resection of the gingival tumor with a partial mandibulectomy and ipsilateral functional neck dissection. The mandible was reconstructed with a titanium plate and forearm flap. In case 2, the patient underwent wide resection of the gingival tumor after local irradiation (60 Gy). At the time of writing, both patients remained in good health and free of disease.