title: Primary oral leishmaniasis mimicking oral cancer: a case report.
abstract: Primary mucosal leishmaniasis is a rare infectious disease, particularly in immunocompetent patients. We present a 50-year-old patient with a 6-week history of a painful lesion of the left buccal mucosa that mimicked cancer. The exophytic lesion looked invasive, and we took an incisional biopsy specimen to exclude cancer. The diagnosis of leishmaniasis was unexpected, and the patient was successfully treated with amphotericin B for five weeks. After five months the patient had a visceral recurrence. Chronic exophytic and ulcerated mucosal lesions that do not heal within 3-4 weeks should be regarded as the first signs of oral cancer, but primary oral leishmaniasis can easily mimic it.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University Federico II of Naples, Italy. Electronic address: antony.celentano@gmail.com.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Celentano
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University Federico II of Naples, Italy. Electronic address: elvira.ruoppo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruoppo
authors.affiliation: Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Morphological and Functional Diagnostics, Pathology Section, University Federico II of Naples, Italy. Electronic address: mansueto.g@inwind.it.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mansueto
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, University Federico II of Naples, Italy. Electronic address: mignogna@unina.it.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Mignogna
mesh_terms: D000666:Amphotericin B / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007897:Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000469:parasitology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D000666:Amphotericin B
keywords: Exophytic lesion; Infectious diseases; Mucosal leishmaniasis; Oral cancer; Oral leishmaniasis