[Leiomyosarcoma of the gingiva. Apropos of a case. Review of the literature]

Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) accounts for 7% of all smooth tissue sarcomas. The rarity of smooth muscle cells in the oral cavity makes LMS a rare tumor in this localization. We report a case of gingival LMS in a 43-year-old woman. We reviewed 23 cases of LMS or the oral cavity report in the literature since 1980. Age of occurrence varied from 2.5 to 63 years with a predominance in the 20 to 30 years age range. In two-thirds of the cases, the first symptom was the development of a painful mass. In half the mass developed in the maxilla and in one-quarter it occurred in the gingival mucosa alone. In nearly all cases treatment was wide excision resection. Surgery with chemotherapy and radiotherapy is reserved for high-grade or recurrent leiomyosarcoma.