Abstract
Carcinoma cuniculatum is a subtype of squamous cell carcinoma that histopathologically shows a sinus-like invasion resembling a rabbit hole. We report a case of carcinoma cuniculatum of the mandibular gingiva.
A 65-year-old man with a history of chronic myelogenous leukemia visited our hospital with a complaint of a white spot in the mandible. A white lesion was recognized on the buccal side of the left mandibular alveolar region, which rapidly progressed to the lingual side. Imaging revealed a flat mass lesion. We suspected a malignant lesion and performed a biopsy, but could not obtain a definitive pathological diagnosis. Because of the aggressive progression of the lesion, resection was planned according to malignant lesions, and a mandibular marginal resection was performed one month after the initial visit. The histopathological diagnosis was carcinoma cuniculatum. There was no recurrence or metastasis four years after surgery.
Carcinoma cuniculatum is a rare histological type of oral squamous cell carcinoma and is underreported due to the difficulty of histopathological diagnosis and lack of recognition. As the accumulation of cases is needed for further clinical and histopathological analysis, we report the present case as a typical one.
