Primary oral leishmaniasis mimicking oral cancer: a case report

Primary mucosal leishmaniasis is a rare infectious disease, particularly in immunocompetent patients. We present a 50-year-old patient with a 6-week history of a painful lesion of the left buccal mucosa that mimicked cancer. The exophytic lesion looked invasive, and we took an incisional biopsy specimen to exclude cancer. The diagnosis of leishmaniasis was unexpected, and the patient was successfully treated with amphotericin B for five weeks. After five months the patient had a visceral recurrence. Chronic exophytic and ulcerated mucosal lesions that do not heal within 3-4 weeks should be regarded as the first signs of oral cancer, but primary oral leishmaniasis can easily mimic it.