Primary Amyloidosis of the Tongue

Report of a Case

Abstract

Primary amyloidosis is a rare disease of unknown cause, but the amyloidosis of the tongue is not infrequently seen in the primary type.
The author regarded a case of amyloidosis of the tongue roported here as of the primary tumor-forming type.
A 53 year-old male developed many masses, approximately 1×0.5×0.3 cm. in size, in the anterior dorsal surface of the tongue and in the left-side buccal mucosa about 10 months prior to his death. He had complained of a slight difficulty in swallowing. The diagnosis was established by the Congo-red stain preparations of the biopsy specimen taken from the tongue. The autopsy revealed the deposits of amyloid in part of the small intestine and in the masses of the subcutaneous tissue layer of the chest and the hip, each mass being approximately 2cm. in diameter. Pyelonephritis, the increase of plasma cells in the bone marrow and the early-staged cancer of the pancreas were also observed.