Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the tongue: Review of the literature and report of a case

Abstract

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is a high-grade and aggressive sarcoma. Since its description as a distinct clinicopathologic entity by O’Brien and Stout in 1964, it has been recognized as the most common soft tissue sarcoma of late adult life. The majority of tumors occur in one of the extremities (lower extremity, 49%; upper extremity, 19%) or in the retroperitoneum or abdominal cavity (16%), with the thigh being the most common site (30%). MFH rarely occurs in the head and neck region. It has been estimated that only approximately 3%–7% of these tumors present in the head and neck region. The sinonasal tract is the most common craniofacial location, accounting for 30% of cases. Other common head and neck sites include the facial skeleton (15%–25%), the larynx (10%–15%), the soft tissues of the neck (10%–15%), and the major salivary glands (10%–15%). Involvement of the mandible, maxilla, maxillary sinus, and perioral soft tissues has been reported. MFH occurs in oral soft tissues only occasionally, and knowledge about its clinical presentation in this specific anatomic location is based on a limited number of cases reported in the literature. Excluding cases of postradiation MFH and metastatic lesions of this neoplasm to the oral tissues from other primary locations, fewer than 45 cases of MFH arising in the hard or soft tissues of the oral cavity have been previously described. Five of these cases had the tongue as a primary site of MFH. The present study reviews the previously reported cases and describes an additional case.