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
Review
. 2023 Feb;43(1):3-11.
doi: 10.14639/0392-100X-N2193.

Imaging features of epidermoid cyst located in the floor of the mouth: case report and narrative review of literature

Nicoletta Basla  1 , Domenico Sfondrini  2 , Marina Francesca Achilli  1 , Michele Catalano  1 , Francesco Sanvito  1 , Maria Gabriella Sala  3 , Stefano Marelli  2 , Marco Benazzo  4   5 , Lorenzo Preda  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Imaging features of epidermoid cyst located in the floor of the mouth: case report and narrative review of literature

Nicoletta Basla et al. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Caratteristiche imaging di una cisti epidermoide nel pavimento orale: case report e review narrativa della letteratura.

Riassunto: Le cisti epidermoidi sono lesioni benigne, a lenta crescita, derivanti dal tessuto ectodermico e possono localizzarsi in qualsiasi parte del corpo. Solo il 7% si localizza nel distretto testa-collo e, sommate alle cisti dermoidi rappresentano meno dello 0,01% di tutte le lesioni cistiche della cavità orale. Le cisti epidermoidi localizzate all’interno della cavità orale sono rare e generalmente rinvenute in pazienti giovani adulti, senza significativa prevalenza di genere. È presentato il caso di un maschio di 17 anni, con diagnosi di cisti epidermoide sublinguale, e una revisione della letteratura su questa rara localizzazione, puntando l’attenzione sulle caratteristiche cliniche, sull’imaging radiologico, il trattamento scelto e i dati istologici. Tutti gli articoli analizzati nella revisione della letteratura sono stati reperiti tramite database PubMed/Medline; sono stati scartati i casi di cisti non situate nel distretto testa-collo, gli articoli dove non è menzionata alcuna diagnostica strumentale, o dove la diagnosi istologica di cisti epidermoide non è stata confermata.

In letteratura sono riportati 35 articoli, dal 1993 al 2020, che soddisfano i suddetti requisiti, per un totale di 38 pazienti e 39 cisti. Per ogni articolo sono stati analizzati: età e sesso, tempo di insorgenza dei sintomi, posizione e dimensioni, e accesso chirurgico. Particolare attenzione è stata rivolta all’indagine radiologica scelta, al fine di comprendere gli aspetti di imaging più comuni e anche casi rari con presentazioni insolite.

Keywords: diagnosis; epidermoid cyst; mouth; review of reported cases.

Plain language summary

Epidermoid cysts are benign slow-growing developmental lesions resulting from ectodermal tissue that can localise anywhere in the body. Only 7% of all epidermoid cysts are located in the head and neck area and, together with dermoid cysts, account for less than 0.01% of all oral cavity cysts. Herein, we present the case of a 17-year-old male diagnosed with a sublingual epidermoid cyst and a review of the literature on this rare localisation, focusing on clinical and imaging features, management and outcomes. All the articles reporting epidermoid cysts located in oral cavity were searched using PubMed/Medline, discarding all those not located in head and neck district, not mentioning diagnostic imaging, not defined as epidermoid cysts by a histopathological diagnosis, and those for which only an abstract was available. In literature there were 35 articles, from 1993 to 2020, that meet the aforementioned requirements, for a total of 38 patients and 39 cysts. For each article, age, sex, onset time of symptoms, location, size and surgical access were analysed. Particular attention was paid to the radiological investigation used in order to understand the most common imaging aspects and also rare cases with unusual presentations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The images above show, respectively, in the first row sonographic appearance of the cyst, with posterior enhancement artifact and hyperechoic spots (A). In T2w images on axial (B) and sagittal (C) plans it appears homogeneously hyperintense. It appears slightly hypointense in T1w (D) and isointense in T1w Fat Sat images (E). There is no pathological restriction of signal on diffusion weighted images (F) and the respective apparent diffusion coefficient map (G). As seen on the sagittal plane, the lesion is located under the geniohyoid muscle, dislocating inferiorly the mylohyoid muscle.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Surgical specimen: the cyst was entirely removed and has intact and well-defined walls (A). Histopathological microscopic appearance of the surgical specimen: cystic formation with pultaceous content (B, C).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Different locations of epidermoid cysts of the oral cavity: under the mylohyoid and geniohyoid muscle (A); above the mylohyoid and geniohyoid muscle (B); among the mylohyoid and geniohyoid muscle (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kandogan T, Koç M, Vardar E, et al. . Sublingual epidermoid cyst: a case report. J Med Case Rep 2007;1:87. https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-1-87 10.1186/1752-1947-1-87 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Patil K, Mahima VG, Malleshi SN. Sublingual epidermoid cyst: a case report. Cases J 2009;2:8848. https://doi.org/10.1186/1757-1626-0002-0000008848 10.1186/1757-1626-0002-0000008848 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Teszler CB, El-Naaj IA, Emodi O, et al. . Dermoid cysts of the lateral floor of the mouth: a comprehensive anatomo-surgical classification of cysts of the oral floor. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2007;65:327-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2005.06.022 10.1016/j.joms.2005.06.022 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mirza S, Fadl S, Napaki S, et al. . Case report of complicated epidermoid cyst of the floor of the mouth: radiology-histopathology correlation. Qatar Med J 2014;2014:12-16. https://doi.org/10.5339/qmj.2014.2 10.5339/qmj.2014.2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. De Ponte FS, Brunelli A, Marchetti E, et al. . Sublingual epidermoid cyst. J Craniofac Surg 2002;13:308-310. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001665-200203000-00024 10.1097/00001665-200203000-00024 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources