Alveolar soft-part sarcoma is considered an extremely rare disease in young people, and its tissue origin remains unclear. We report a case of alveolar soft-part sarcoma that developed in the tongue of a child.
A 9-year-old boy had a tumor mass on the central dorsum of the tongue since the age of 4 years. It was left untreated for 5 years, until he was referred to our department by a dentist for detailed evaluation and treatment. We observed a hemispherical tumor mass (20 × 30 mm) with elastic hard and indolent properties and an ill-defined border on the central dorsum of the tongue. Histopathological diagnosis based on a biopsy performed under local anesthesia suggested a granular cell tumor, without providing a definitive diagnosis. Subsequently, surgery was performed with the patient under general anesthesia to remove the tongue tumor. An additional excision performed after histopathological examination led to a definitive diagnosis of alveolar soft-part sarcoma. Four years after surgery, the patient is in stable condition without any local recurrence or metastasis.
