Metastases from oral squamous cell carcinoma usually occur in the cervical lymph nodes. Distant skeletal muscle metastases are exceedingly rare and have been reported only in sporadic cases. A 70-year-old male patient was diagnosed with nonmetastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma (pT4a, N0, M0). The patient underwent successful surgical treatment involving tumor resection and selective neck dissection of both sides, including adjuvant radiotherapy. After 3 years of uneventful course, with no clinical or radiographic evidence for local recurrence or metastasis, an isolated distant metastasis in the gluteal muscles was diagnosed. The patient died 7 months after diagnosis despite further surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy. Distant metastases are mostly accompanied by systemic spread of tumor cells. Thus, the prognosis is generally very poor. The therapeutic concept of surgical tumor resection and adjuvant chemotherapy failed to significantly improve the patient's prognosis in the present case.
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