Management considerations for the patient with tongue squamous cell carcinoma associated with Behçet's disease: A case report

Malignancies associated with Behçet's disease (BD) are rare, and surgery for patients with BD frequently results in postoperative complications such as wound dehiscence, postoperative infection, and exacerbation of BD itself. We present a rare case of left tongue carcinoma in a 70-year-old woman with BD. The pathological findings showed moderate-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma with atypical squamous cell infiltrative proliferation. Daily concurrent chemoradiotherapy with docetaxel and cisplatin using superselective intra-arterial infusion via superficial temporal artery and occipital artery was performed. Two indwelling catheters, one from the left occipital artery to the left lingual artery and the other from the left superficial temporal artery to the left facial artery, were inserted to carry out superselective intra-arterial infusion treatment. After completion of all treatments, a biopsy specimen of the primary lesion showed grade III, nonviable tumor cells, suggesting complete response. Superselective intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy was effective for treating the tongue carcinoma associated with BD, and avoided surgical treatment. This method could control the primary lesion and cervical lymph node metastasis clinically without severe side effects. The patient has been disease free for 18 months without the complication of treatment.