Unusual presentation of primary mandibular gingival squamous cell ‎carcinoma in young male: A case report

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is usually considered a disease of older people. Recently, there is a change in the occurrence of such lesions in young patients and lacking the established risk factors.CASE REPORT: A 21-year-old male reported with an innocuous gingival growth over lower incisors since a month. Within 15 days he noticed another gingival growth in same region lingually. The growths were mildly tender with no suppuration. The associated teeth were non-mobile and vital. The radiographic findings were insignificant. An excisional biopsy was performed under local anesthesia. The stained H and E section showed a hyper-parakeratinized stratified squamous surface epithelium with underlying connective tissue with collagen fibers, fibroblasts, blood vessels and areas of dense chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate. Epithelium exhibited features of dysplasia. There was a breach in the continuity of the basement membrane and the malignant epithelial cells were seen invading the connective tissue in form of thin cord. The histopathological study confirmed the diagnosis of well differentiated SCC. Oral SCC is not a disease of the elderly anymore. We also reviewed the literature of SCC in young patients. Thus biopsy is mandatory for any non-resolving gingival growth.