Histopathological aspects of benign mesenchymal tumors located in "high risk areas" of the tongue.

Although a series of premalignant or potentially malignant lesions are described in the tongue, there are many other lesions whose potential of degeneration can be determined by a prolonged action of irritant or carcinogenic factors. Even if they are practically considered to be harmless, benign formations of mesenchymal origin with lingual location represent in the same time a neoplastic lesion under the influence of local and general factors, for a variable period of time. When these structures are located in major risk areas from the oral cavity and in particular, those directly related to the tongue, special attention should be paid to their development. In this study (conducted on a total of 16 cases of benign mesenchymal malignancies), we planned a histopathological evaluation of surgical excision samples obtained from interventions on lingual neoplasias, and harvested from areas with the highest risk for lingual cancer development (pelvilingual groove, the base of the tongue and the insertion of the anterior pillar) in order to assess the histopathological aspects in different types of lesions and the possible presence of degenerative changes.