Metastatic Tumors to the Jaws and Mouth

Abstract

Metastatic dissemination to the oral cavity is rare and is usually the evidence of a wide spread disease with an average survival rate of 7 months. In almost a quarter of the cases, oral metastasis was found to be the first indication of an occult malignancy at a distant site. Metastatic lesions can be found anywhere in the oral cavity, however, the jawbones with the molar area is the most frequently involved site. In the oral soft tissues, the gingiva is the most common site, suggesting the possible role of inflammation in the attraction of metastatic deposits. The most common primary malignancies presenting oral metastases were the lung, kidney, liver, and prostate for men, and breast, female genital organs, kidney, and colorectum for women. Most patients with jawbone metastasis complain of swelling, pain, and paresthesia. An exophytic lesion is the most common clinical presentation of metastatic lesions in the oral soft tissues. Early lesions, mainly those located in the gingiva, may resemble a hyperplastic or reactive lesion. Once a lesion is recognized as metastasis, the primary tumor site should be identified following clinical, radiological and histopathological investigations. If standardized diagnostic workup fails to detect the site of origin, then the term carcinoma of unknown primary is applied. Personalized medicine tools such as tissue-oforigin assays should be applied, either by immunohistochemical testing or by molecular-profiling methods as these may lead to a more favorable outcome.

Ca Prostate with Oral Metastases: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…Because of its rarity, the diagnosis of a metastatic lesion in the oral region is challenging, both to the clinician and to the pathologist, in recognizing that a lesion is metastatic and in determining the primary site [10]. Torn Daley in 2011, reported 38 cases of oral metastases, mostly to the mandible followed by the gingiva, mucosa and the alveolar ridge, the most common primary sites were the prostate 8 cases, the lung 7 cases, the breast 5 cases, squamous cell carcinomas 4 cases, renal cancer 3 cases, ca colon 2 cases, hepatocellular cancer 2 cases, thyroid cancer one case and unknown primary 6 cases [11].…”

Non-small-cell lung cancer metastasis to the oral cavity: A case report

“…A rapidly progressing lesion accompanied by pain and paresthesia are the most common symptoms, whereas a bony swelling with tenderness over the affected area is observed in several cases (14). Our patient complained of a non-healing mass on the surface of his left upper buccal gingiva.…”

Tumor homing to the oral cavity after tooth extraction in a patient with metastatic lung adenocancer: A case report

“…Metastases to the jawbones usually manifest with the complaints of swelling, pain, and paresthesia. 6,7 The tumor cells detaching from the primary mass growing by clonal enlargement, heterogeneity and angiogenesis invade the basal membrane. They pass the extracellular matrix and enter the blood vessels.…”