Ganglioneuroma, base of tongue: a rare entity.

We have discussed the case of a solitary polypoid ganglioneuroma in a 45-year-old male patient, at the base of tongue, which mimicked a malignancy. The interest of this case lay in the rarity of its incidence at the base of tongue and its gross resemblance to the more common malignant polypoidal growths at this site. The presence of neural elements and ganglion cells at this site makes it important for an inexperienced histopathologist to differentiate it from other neural lesions of the tongue, in order to avoid a misdiagnosis and this can prevent the clinician from administering an inappropriate treatment. Exhaustive search revealed only a very few case reports on the tongue.