Oral cavity lipoma: a study of 101 cases in a Brazilian population

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: Lipomas are benign soft tissue tumors commonly found in the human body. Although common in the head and neck region, in the oral cavity region they are uncommon, accounting for only 1% to 4% of benign oral cavity lesions. Objective: This study aims to identify the clinical and histopathological characteristics of oral cavity lipomas subjected to histopathological analysis at a pathology laboratory in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Methods: Data from all cases of oral lesions diagnosed as lipoma and confirmed by histopathological examination over a period of 10 years were collected, including: gender, age, anatomical location, clinical diagnosis and histopathological subtypes. Results: During the period evaluated, 101 cases were diagnosed as lipomas, representing 1.01% of oral cavity biopsies. Females were more affected, with a male/female ratio of 1: 1.8, and with a peak of incidence between 50 and 70 years of age. The buccal mucosa was the most affected anatomical region, followed by the lower lip. Classic lipoma and fibrolipoma were the histological variants of lipoma most commonly found in the oral cavity, with 64 cases of classic lipoma and 29 cases of fibrolipoma. Other histological variants were: sialolipoma, angiolipoma, chondrolipoma, myxolipoma and intramuscular lipoma. Conclusion: Lipomas are uncommon lesions in the oral cavity, which present a higher prevalence in the buccal mucosa of adults, aged between 50 and 70 years, and with higher female preference.

Keywords

• lipoma
• pathology
• mouth neoplasms