Lingual Osseous Choristoma: A Study of Eight Cases and Review of the Literature

A choristoma is a tumor-like mass of normal tissue in an “abnormal” location. Lingual osseous choristoma, previously known as osteoma of the tongue, is a rare entity: we found documentation of eight cases at our center during the 10-year period between 1987 and 1996. These cases were analyzed along with 50 others reported in the English language literature between 1913 and 1996. Lingual osseous choristoma frequently occurs during the third and fourth decades of life, and predominantly affects women (81 %). Most of the osseous choristomas in our review were located in the posterior third of the tongue, primarily at or close to the foramen cecum or circumvallate papillae (87.9%). While 39.7% of the patients were asymptomatic, the remaining patients complicated of symptoms including a lump in the throat (25.8%), dysphagia (6.9%), gagging (5.1%), nausea (3.4%) and irritation (3.4%). Treatment of lingual osseous choristoma consists of simple excision. The tumor's origin has been discussed elsewhere.