Anaplastic large cell lymphoma of the tongue

Presentation A 66-year-old lady presented with a 7-month history of oral phase dysphagia and a 1-month history of a mass increasing in size on her left tongue with enlarged lymph nodes in the right neck. Diagnosis Biopsy showed this to be an anaplastic lymphoma (ALK) kinase negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Radiological investigations showed no disseminated spread of disease. Treatment Her case was referred to the haematology service and she was treated successfully. Conclusion Primary oral cavity ALCL is a rare pathology with only 16 cases reported in the English language literature. However, it has a favourable prognosis with a 77% 5-year survival. This case reminds us to be cognisant of different pathologies when assessing patients in head and neck clinics and represents another rare systemic ALK-negative ALCL case involving the oral cavity.