Benign Fibrous Histiocytomas of the Oral Mucosa: Report on Three Cases and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Benign fibrous histiocytomas (BFH) of the skin are common lesions, although they only rarely involve the oral mucosa. This article presents 3 additional cases of BFH of the oral mucosa, with a review of previously published cases. Although a malignant variant of BFH also exists, the present review focuses only on benign lesions. The clinical presentation, diagnosis, histopathological and immunohistochemical features of BFH are discussed. According to the present analysis, the majority of oral mucosal BFH have occurred in middle-aged and elderly patients, with a slight female predilection. Within the oral cavity, BHF may occur at any mucosal site, including the lips, tongue, buccal mucosa, mandibular and maxillary gingiva as well as the palate. Histopathology is essential to diagnose the lesion, while immunohistochemical investigations may be utilized to exclude the histopathological differential diagnoses such as juvenile xanthogranulomas and nevi. This review also revealed total excision as the treatment of choice for BFH, with a very good prognosis and an extremely low rate of relapse.