Carcinoma Showing Thymus-Like Differentiation (CASTLE) Arising in the Sublingual Gland

Abstract

Carcinoma showing thymic-like differentiation (CASTLE) is a rare tumor most commonly occurring in the thyroid and soft tissues of the neck. We report the first case of CASTLE occurring in the sublingual gland. The patient, a 35-year-old healthy man, presented with a submucosal lesion located in the anterior right floor of the oral cavity and an ipsilateral neck mass. The lesion had been previously investigated by neck computed tomography and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration cytology and diagnosed as metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. After oral cavity magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and a non-diriment, fine needle aspiration cytology of the sublingual mass, the patient was treated as affected by a sublingual gland malignancy with removal of primary tumor and neck dissection. Morphological and immunohistochemical findings were diagnostic for primary sublingual gland CASTLE. The patient received adjuvant radiotherapy and is free of disease 2 years after treatment. We describe the pathological features of the lesion and discuss the possible differential diagnoses.