Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor: A Rare Tumor in the Tongue

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is composed of myofibroblast and inflammatory cell infiltration of the tissue. Malign transformation and recurrence rate of this tumor is rare and accepted as benign fibroinflammatory disease. The main etiology is unclear, but infection, trauma, and immunologic event are accused. In this study, we presented a 75-year-old man with a mass on his tongue, which was diagnosed as “inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor.” This type of tumor is rarely seen in the tongue and might be difficult to diagnose. Complete mass excision was provided for an adaquete treatment. 1. Introduction Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare mesenchymal tumor [1]. The etiology of IMT is contentious, also the nature of this tumor type (benign or malign) is still controversial [1–3]. But, because of its rarity, the current conception is altered from a benign reactive process to an intermediate neoplasm [4]. Different terms such as; inflammatory pseudotumor, histiocytoma, plasma cell histiocytoma complex, plasma cell granuloma, fibrohistiocytoma, xanthomatous granuloma, myxoid hamartoma, xanthomatous pseudotumor, spindle cell pseudotumor, inflammatory fibrosarcoma, benign myofibroblastoma, and inflammatory myofibroblastic proliferation were used for defining this tumor. World Health Organization (WHO) had consolidated this term as IMT in 1994 and declared it as a diagnostic classification for intermediate soft-tissue myofibroblastic neoplasm according to its well reproducible histological morphology [4, 5]. The tumor reported in the lung originally, but extra-pulmonary form, has been described in different organs and anatomic sites [6, 7]. Regardless of the site of origin, it is a circumscribed mass-forming process, composed of myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, histiocytes, and plasma cells. Although stromal fibrosis is a finding that is usually seen, tumor tends to be limited in the focal area [6, 8]. IMT is preferentially occurring in children and young adults [6]. In this report, we presented a 75-year-old male patient with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the tongue presenting with pediculated large mass. 2. ？？Case Report A 75-year-old man was referred to our clinic with a painless, pediculated large mass on the left side of the tongue. The lesion grew rapidly within four months. Oral examination revealed an approximately 4 centimeter (cm) in diameter, hard, partially ulcerated, and pediculated large mass on the left side of the tongue (Figure 1). There was no regional lymphadenopathy, and the remainder of physical examination was