Lipoosteocartilaginous choristoma of the tongue: a case report

Introduction: Choristoma is the proliferation of histologically normal tissue in the ectopic position. Oral choristoma infrequently occurs in soft tissue, with most cases developing on the tongue and displaying osseous histological findings. It is mostly encountered in the fifth decade of life, but the age ranges from 12-to-64 years old, with a female predilection. Observations: An 81-year-old man presented with an asymptomatic, firm, mobile and pedunculated nodule on the right dorsum of the tongue, just anterior to the circumvallate papillae, for more than ten years duration. Microscopically, the lesion was covered by a parakeratinised stratified squamous epithelium and central to the lamina propia, large, calcified material that resembles normal bone and cartilage was observed. The osseous basophilic mass appears rounded with the characteristic rim of reversal lines and contains numerous lacunae with osteocytes. Peripherally, chondroid metaplasia was also seen with evidence of mature hyaline cartilage containing chondrocytes. The whole osseous-chondroid mass was surrounded by adipose tissue. Conclusion: Oral choristoma is a rare entity, and a mixture of cartilage, bone and adipose tissue is considered an exquisite histological finding. Generally, it has benign behaviour, and surgical excision is the treatment of choice. No recurrence has been reported.