Metastatic tumors of the oral region are rare, accounting for about 1.6% of all malignant tumors in the oral cavity. In this article, we report a case of pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma that metastasized to the mandibular gingiva. A 66-year-old man was referred to our department to determine the cause of fever. Although the patient had a medical history of pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, the lung cancer was controlled. He presented with marked bleeding from a left mandibular gingival swelling at the first visit. The tumor marker was in the normal range, but he had a markedly elevated white-cell count and C-reactive protein levels. We diagnosed his condition at the initial visit as the acute phase of periodontitis. A biopsy was performed because the gingival tumor was suspected to be a metastasis from lung cancer. The gingival tumor was histopathologically similar to the pulmonary lesion. Therefore, the final diagnosis was metastasis of pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma to the left mandibular gingival mucosa. Surgical treatment was not performed because of other distant metastatic lesions found on systemic examination. The patient died 3 months later.
The outcomes of lung cancer with gingival metastasis are very poor. Early detection and appropriate treatment are necessary. We described a rarely reported case of gingival metastasis from pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma.
