Squamous Cell Carcinoma Pictures of the Oral Cavity

In our previous two articles, Oral pathology of Oral Cavity and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and Oral Pathology of Oral Pharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and HPV, we looked at histological images, discussed biological profiles, trends, survival rates, and treatments. In this article we will provide additional clinical pictures of Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

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Clinical Pictures of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Affecting the Gingiva

Here’s a large ulcerative granulomatous type lesion. This was a squamous cell carcinoma of the gingiva.

large ulcerative granulomatous lesion picture oral cavity gums
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Here’s a more ulcerative, granulomatous example. This patient had an extraction and the clinician didn’t think to biopsy the area and thought that this extraction socket just wasn’t healing properly. This granulation tissue turned out to be a cancer.

ulcerative granulomatous lesion squamous cell carcinoma of the gingiva picture
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Here is a squamous cell carcinoma that closely mimicks pyogenic granuloma. Because there’s a lot of calculus here you might think that it is pyogenic granuloma, but this is abnormal and needs to be biopsied. Never take tissue and throw it away. Always submit it for biopsy.

oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma picture mimicking pyogenic granuloma
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Same thing happening here. Generally, the dentist’s were working on teeth in the area and thought for several months that it was just granulation tissue. In these patients, two separate patients, both of these turned out to be squamous cell carcinomas.

squamous cell carcinoma picture gingiva
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squamous cell carcinoma picture gingiva 1
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Here’s an obvious squamous cell carcinoma involving the gingiva with the corresponding radiograph. It’s never good when you’re seeing a tooth floating in air. You’re seeing a regular, poorly defined periphery of this lesion which is not a good sign.

image of squamous cell carcinome involving the gingiva
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radiograph of squamous cell carcinoma picture involving the gingiva
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Clinical Pictures of Squamous Cell Carcinoma with Periodontal Involvement

The dentist was working on a dental implant. They noticed that the patient has good oral hygiene so they wondered why only one tooth was periodontally involved and needed to be extracted. At that point in time there was cancer already. The cancer spread all the way here. This is a major concern. If you see something abnormal, don’t ignore it. Take a biopsy put it in formalin and send it to a lab.

squamous cell carcinoma picture dental implant
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Sometimes squamous cell carcinomas are less obvious. This patient, a young female, had very good oral hygiene. Why does this patient have something that looks like a pyogenic granuloma when she’s got very good oral hygiene? This is the lingual view and again ulcerated lesion. They took a biopsy and turned out to be a squamous cell.

lingual view of squamous cell carcinoma picture of an ulcerated lesion
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Periodontitis and Squamous Cell Carcinoma Pictures

Here’s an example of periodontitis. If you are thrown off by the periodontal disease and the black hairy tongue and you don’t do your oral exam properly you’re gonna miss the squamous cell carcinoma.  This patient came in for a cleaning and had no idea that this lesion was there. Do your intraoral, head, and neck exams.

oral cancer with periodontitis opscc
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mouth cancer with periodontitis hairy tongue
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oral cavity cancer with periodontitis
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Squamous Cell Carcinoma on the Tongue

Here’s a little less obvious lesion. It’s kind of erosive like erythroplakia, regular, slightly raised leukoplakia but this is also a squamous cell carcinoma along the lateral border of the tongue.

oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma along the lateral border of the tongue
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These are the things that you’re trying to look for in an earlier stage. You can recognize it when it’s just a red area or just a little white area. If you’re not sure if it was just a localized white area, smooth down these cusps and have the patient back in two weeks. If it’s not gone, you have to biopsy the lesion and make sure that it’s not dysplasia or a squamous cell.

Vesicular Ulcerative Conditions

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