A Rare Presentation of Hard Palate Actinomycosis Mimicking a Neoplasm: Case Report

Actinomycosis is a rare, chronic, and slowly progressive granulomatous disease caused by Gram positive anaerobic bacteria. Actinomycosis of the head and neck is an uncommon and frequently misdiagnosed, actinomycosis can mimic many other diseases, including neoplasms, and the diagnosis may be difficult to establish. The following study reports a 70-year-old man with a painful ulcerations of the oral cavity for 6 months, he had been a smoker for 18 years; In addition, the patient had been diagnosed with epidermoid carcinoma of the lung 1 years previously, which was in remission after a radio chemotherapy. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination so he was treated with a regimen of oral ampicillin. Histopathological examination is the most reliable diagnostic tool to define the diagnosis. A high diagnostic index of suspicion for actinomycosis when ulcérative lesion of palate occurs benefits to the patient and the practitioner.