In this report, 14 oral lipomas treated at our department between 1985 and 1995 were reviewed clinically and histopathologically, along with a discussion of oral lipomas reported in Japan.
The characteristics of our cases were as follows: 1) Eight patients were men and 6 were women. 2) Their age distribution ranged from 24 to 80 years. 3) The most common site of oral lipoma was the buccal mucosa (7 cases), followed by the lower lip (3 cases). 4) The duration of symptoms ranged from 1 month to 15 years. 5) The clinical diagnosis was lipoma in 8 cases, fibroma in 5 cases, and papilloma in 1 case. 6) Histologically, there were 6 simple lipomas, 7 fibrolipomas, and 1 angiomyolipoma.
Some reports state that oral lipomas are no longer a rare tumor. In our study, 14 oral lipomas were seen over 10 years. At 7 institutions in Japan, less than 2 cases were encountered per year per institution, indicating that the prevalence of oral lipoma is not high. We have to accumulate more cases and information on oral lipoma.