Page 33 - SPEMD_67-1

Revista Portuguesa de Estomatologia,
Medicina Dentária e Cirurgia Maxilofacial
Portuguese Journal of Stomatology, Dental Medicine and Maxillofacial Surgery

rev port estomatol med dent cir maxilofac. 2026;67(1):27-33

Clinical Case Report

Oral verrucous carcinoma in unusual locations:
Two case reports

1
Josivaldo Bezerra Soares 1,2, * , Beatriz Medeiros Batista ,
1
1
Sérgio Cantídio Carneiro Morais , Cícera Dalylla Lopes Ferreira ,
1
2
Katia Caetana Pereira , Paulo Rogério Ferreti Bonan
1 Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Outpatient Clinic of the Lauro Wanderley University Hospital, Federal University of Paraíba (HULW/UFPB),
João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil.
2 Piracicaba Dental School, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Verrucous carcinoma is a rare, distinct, well-differentiated variant of squamous cell carci-
Received 9 March 2025 noma, characterized by slow growth, local invasiveness, and low metastatic potential. The
Accepted 25 February 2026 tumor predominantly affects the buccal mucosa, followed by the mandibular alveolar ridge,
Available online 2 April 2026 gingiva, and tongue. We report two cases of oral verrucous carcinoma in unusual locations.
Case 1 presented as a white verrucous lesion on the lower lip, while Case 2 manifested as a
Keywords: palatal lesion with a cauliflower-like verrucous surface. Microscopically, both cases exhib-
Mouth ited an exophytic tumor with a verruciform architecture and invasive growth through broad,
Oral and maxillofacial pathology bulbous rete ridges. Therefore, the definitive diagnosis for both patients was verrucous
Squamous cell carcinoma of head carcinoma. Distinguishing verrucous carcinoma from other verrucous lesions poses a sig-
and neck nificant challenge for pathologists. A deep biopsy incorporating adjacent normal tissue is
Verrucous carcinoma mandatory for accurate differential diagnosis and to rule out hybrid carcinoma. (Rev Port
Estomatol Med Dent Cir Maxilofac. 2026;67(1):27-33)
© 2026 Sociedade Portuguesa de Estomatologia e Medicina Dentária.
Published by SPEMD. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

middle-aged and elderly adults, with a peak in the sixth and
Introduction
seventh decades of life, and is more prevalent in men than
Verrucous carcinoma (VC), initially described by Ackerman in in women. 4,5
1948, is a rare, distinct, well-differentiated variant of squa- Regarding location, VC predominantly affects the mucous
mous cell carcinoma (SCC), with specific morphological and membranes of the head and neck region, particularly the oral
6,7
1,2
clinical characteristics. Unlike conventional SCC, VC exhib- cavity, larynx, hypopharynx, and trachea. In the oral cavity,
its slow growth, a local invasion pattern, and low potential the most common sites are the buccal mucosa, followed by the
2,8
3
for regional and distant metastases. Typically, VC affects mandibular alveolar ridge, gingiva, and tongue. Clinically,
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: josivaldo.soares@academico.ufpb.br (Josivaldo Bezerra Soares)
http://doi.org/10.24873/j.rpemd.2026.04.1565
1646-2890/© 2026 Sociedade Portuguesa de Estomatologia e Medicina Dentária. Published by SPEMD.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).