Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the tongue: report of an unusual case in a teenage patient.

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a rare and distinctive lesion composed of myofibroblastic cells accompanied by an inflammatory infiltration of plasma cells, lymphocytes, and eosinophils that mainly affects viscera and soft tissues of children and young adults. It clinically manifests as a mass with rapid development that may occur at almost any site of the body, but predominantly in the lungs or the upper respiratory tract. It rarely arises in the oral cavity with approximately 15 cases reported in that location. We describe a case of an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the tongue, confirmed by both histopathologic and immunohistochemical analysis, occurring in a 14-year-old boy that spontaneously regressed after the surgical procedures for its diagnosis. Because of some aggressive clinical, histological, and radiological features, this lesion may be confused with a malignant tumor. Therefore, its correct recognition is important to avoid unnecessary extensive and radical therapeutic approaches.

Primary oral mucosal melanoma: a series of 35 new cases from South America.

Oral mucosal melanoma is rare and reported to be more aggressive than its cutaneous counterpart. Due to the rarity of this entity, data on epidemiology, tumor behavior, treatment, follow-up, and survival of patients are mainly based on single case reports. The few existing series of patients show that oral mucosa melanoma has its peak between 41 and 60 years of age, and male to female ratio is 2:1. Preferred oral sites include hard palate and maxillary alveolar crests. Risk factors have not been clearly identified, and surgical treatment is still the treatment of choice for oral mucosal melanomas. The authors retrospectively studied 35 patients with primary melanoma of the oral cavity to report their clinical and pathological features, such as age, sex, site of the tumor, metastasis, treatment, response to therapy, and outcome. We found no significant sex predominance, and the mean age of the patients was 60.6 years, with a range from 9 to 91 years. The majority of the patients (71.42%) had palate commitment, and invasive histopathological aspect was observed in 80% of the specimens (grade 3). Long-distance metastasis was found in 60% of the cases. Fourteen patients were submitted to wide surgical resections, with local relapse being observed in 11 of them (78.5%). The authors suggest that improved outcome in oral malignant melanoma requires the development of new therapies and the prevention of distant metastasis.

Disseminated cytomegalovirus disease as a cause of prolonged fever in a bullous pemphigoid patient under systemic steroid therapy.

We present the first reported case of disseminated cytomegalovirus (CMV) in association with prednisone therapy in bullous pemphigoid (BP). A 66-year-old black male patient was admitted to our hospital presenting cutaneous pruritic lesions represented by tense blisters, with serous content on the arms, abdomen and legs. Laboratory findings confirmed the diagnosis of BP. After two weeks of prednisone therapy, the patient developed prolonged fever, which was caused by CMV disseminated disease, with prompt clinical recovery after ganciclovir administration.

Using oral tetracycline and topical betamethasone valerate to treat acrodermatitis continua of hallopeau.

Acrodermatitis continua of Hallopeau (ACH) is a rare type of localized pustular psoriasis. We report the case of a 65-year-old alcoholic woman who had severe inflammatory ACH for 10 years. Initial therapy with sulfasalazine was unsuccessful. The patient was then treated with oral tetracycline and topical betamethasone valerate with occlusive dressing. Her condition improved dramatically after one week.