With only 14 cases and as many different therapeutic strategies reported in the literature, small cell carcinoma of the oral cavity remains a real challenge with diagnostic and therapeutic pitfalls.

A 65-year-old patient with an active smoking habit consulted for a painful oral pelvic mass. The staging confirmed the diagnosis of small cell carcinoma of the anterior floor of mouth, classified as cT3N0M0. By analogy with pulmonary locations, medical management combining chemotherapy specific for small bronchial cell carcinoma (carboplatin-etoposide) and radiotherapy (tumor bed and cervical lymph nodes) was preferred. We found no recurrence of the disease 12 months after treatment.

Local invasiveness and metastatic potential of small cell carcinoma of the oral cavity require harmonization of therapeutic strategies. We suggest initiating chemotherapy associated with radiotherapy as quickly as possible, a treatment to which these tumors are known to have histological sensitivity.