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Tongue Nodule as Primary Manifestation of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Immunocompetent Patient

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Abstract

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease considered an endemic public health problem in developing countries, where it is a reportable disease. Isolated oral manifestation is rare, and its clinical manifestations are variable. In this paper we describe an unusual case of an immunocompetent patient, 57-year-old man with a painless reddish submucosal nodule located on the tongue dorsum. Microscopical analysis showed chronic inflammatory infiltrate with macrophages containing leishmania in cytoplasmic vacuoles. PCR assays confirmed the diagnosis and patient was treated with meglumine antimoniate for 30 days. Absence of the parasite was confirmed by PCR. Thirteen years after treatment, a scar fibrosis persisted on the tongue dorsum. The case reported reveals that leishmaniasis should be considered in the diagnosis of tongue nodules in immunocompetent patients.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dra Lucile Maria Floeter-Winter from Department of Physiology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo (USP), for performing the PCR assays.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oral Oncology Center, School of Dentistry, São Paulo State University (Unesp), 1193 José Bonifácio St, Araçatuba, São Paulo, 15050-015, Brazil

    Maria Clara Bertolini Botelho, Lígia Lavezo Ferreira, Stelios Fikaris, Eder Ricardo Biasoli, Glauco Issamu Miyahara & Daniel Galera Bernabé

  2. Dental Oncology Service, São Paulo State Cancer Institute (ICESP-FMUSP), University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Prado-Ribeiro

  3. Department of Diagnosis and Surgery, São Paulo State University (Unesp), School of Dentistry, 1193 José Bonifácio St, Araçatuba, São Paulo, 15050-015, Brazil

    Ana Maria Pires Soubhia, Eder Ricardo Biasoli, Glauco Issamu Miyahara & Daniel Galera Bernabé

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  1. Maria Clara Bertolini Botelho
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  2. Lígia Lavezo Ferreira
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Correspondence to Daniel Galera Bernabé.

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Botelho, M.C.B., Ferreira, L.L., Fikaris, S. et al. Tongue Nodule as Primary Manifestation of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Immunocompetent Patient. Head and Neck Pathol 15, 1069–1073 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-020-01253-w

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