Verrucous Hyperplasia of Tongue -A Case Report

Oral verrucous hyperplasia (OVH) is one of the rare exophytic premalignant lesion that is claimed to have high chance of malignant transformation. Lack of invasion into the underlying cell layer is one of the striking histological differences between verrucous hyperplasia and carcinoma. Verrucous hyperplasia (VH) is considered as the precursor to verrucous carcinoma (VC) which is a well- differentiated variant of oral squamous cell carcinoma. It is more prevalent in individuals with habits such as areca nut chewing or smoking. Here, we have reported a case of 58-year-old female who presented with whitish patch over the lateral border of the tongue region associated with mild discomfort for 6 months. she had a history of diabetes for past 2 years. There was a habit of using betel quid with areca nut for past 20 years. Physical examination revealed no abnormalities. The lesion over the left lateral border of tongue presented as ill-defined, whitish homogeneous exophytic patch which was rough, non-tender and non-scrapable on palpation. Followed by excisional biopsy a histopathological diagnosis of verrucous hyperplasia was given. Patient showed no re-occurrence in the subsequent follow-up session for one year. So, for management of such Oral pre-malignant lesions, the patient's history pertaining to deleterious habits should be evaluated followed by a systematic clinico-pathological diagnostic approach.