Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2020 Jan;47(1):22-26.
doi: 10.1111/cup.13581. Epub 2019 Oct 7.

White sponge nevus: A condition not always clinically suspected

Kelly T Bezerra  1 , Taiana C Leite  1 , Ana Luiza O C Roza  2 , Rubem Araújo  3 , Mônica S Israel  4 , Nathalie H S Canedo  5 , Michelle Agostini  1 , Bruno Augusto Benevenuto de Andrade  1 , Mário J Romañach  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

White sponge nevus: A condition not always clinically suspected

Kelly T Bezerra et al. J Cutan Pathol. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

White sponge nevus (WSN) is an uncommon benign inherited disorder characterized by white and diffuse painless lesions in oral, esophageal, or genital mucosa. The lesions may develop at birth or later in childhood or adolescence, with careful clinical examination being sufficient for diagnosis in most cases. However, microscopic analysis may be necessary particularly in adults in which other whitish oral lesions may be clinically suspected. Dermatologists, dentists, and pathologists should consider WSN when evaluating multiple white oral lesions, thus preventing unnecessary treatments. Herein, we report four additional cases of WSN with emphasis on its clinical and histopathological features.

Keywords: oral mucosa; white lesions; white sponge nevus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • White Sponge Nevus Caused by Keratin 4 Gene Mutation: A Case Report.
    Qiao Y, Liu B, Bai R, Cai J, Peng Q. Qiao Y, et al. Genes (Basel). 2022 Nov 22;13(12):2184. doi: 10.3390/genes13122184. Genes (Basel). 2022. PMID: 36553451 Free PMC article.
  • Familiar white sponge nevus.
    Prada-García C, González-Morán A, Pérez-González X. Prada-García C, et al. An Bras Dermatol. 2024 Jul-Aug;99(4):613-615. doi: 10.1016/j.abd.2023.08.013. Epub 2024 Apr 8. An Bras Dermatol. 2024. PMID: 38594177 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Oral White Sponge Nevus: A Rare Case Report.
    Hosseinpour Sarmadi M, Javadzadeh F, Taghavi Zenouz M, Zohrabi M. Hosseinpour Sarmadi M, et al. Clin Case Rep. 2025 Aug 30;13(9):e70833. doi: 10.1002/ccr3.70833. eCollection 2025 Sep. Clin Case Rep. 2025. PMID: 40893399 Free PMC article.
  • Oral Mucosal Lesions in Childhood.
    Horvat Aleksijević L, Prpić J, Muhvić Urek M, Pezelj-Ribarić S, Ivančić-Jokić N, Peršić Bukmir R, Aleksijević M, Glažar I. Horvat Aleksijević L, et al. Dent J (Basel). 2022 Nov 9;10(11):214. doi: 10.3390/dj10110214. Dent J (Basel). 2022. PMID: 36354659 Free PMC article. Review.
  • White sponge naevus: an uncommon oral white lesion.
    Misra SR, Das R, Panda S, Mohanty N. Misra SR, et al. BMJ Case Rep. 2021 Nov 29;14(11):e246105. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2021-246105. BMJ Case Rep. 2021. PMID: 34844967 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
See all "Cited by" articles

References

REFERENCES

    1. Rugg EL, McLean WHI, Allison WE Lunny DP, Macleod RI, Felix DH, et al. A mutation in the mucosal keratin K4 is associated with oral white sponge nevus. Nat Genet. 1995;11(4):450-452.
    1. Martelli H Jr, Pereira SM, Rocha TM, dos Santos PLAN, de Paula AMB, Bonan PRF. White sponge nevus: report of a three-generation family. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod. 2007;103(1):43-47.
    1. Richard G, De Laurenzi V, Didona B, Bale SJ, Compton JG. Keratin 13 point mutation underlies the hereditary mucosal epithelial disorder white sponge nevus. Nat Genet. 1995;11(4):453-455.
    1. Martins Filho PRS, Brasileiro BF, Piva MR, Trento CL, Santos TS. Familial case of oral white sponge nevus - a rare hereditary condition. An Bras Dermatol. 2011;86(4 Suppl 1):S39-S41.
    1. Songu M, Adibelli H, Diniz G. White sponge nevus: clinical suspicion and diagnosis. Pediatr Dermatol. 2012;29(4):495-497.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources