Pseudotumors and tumors of the temporomandibular joint. A review

Abstract

Objective: To review the pseudotumors and tumors of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) published in journals included in Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and to evaluate whether there are clinical and radiological signs capable of differentiating between pseudotumors and tumors and between malignant and benign tumors. Material and Methods: A systematic Medline search was made of clinical cases of tumors and pseudotumors of the TMJ covering a 20-year period and published in journals included in JCR. Only cases with histological confirmation were included. A description is provided of the general characteristics of TMJ tumors, with comparison of the clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic and evolutive variables referred to pseudotumors, benign tumors and malignant tumors. Results: We identified 285 TMJ tumors published in 181 articles of 15 journals. The most frequent lesions were pseudotumors (synovial chondromatosis, pigmented villonodular synovitis, eosinophilic granuloma and osteochondroma). The mean age was 42 years and one month ± 16 years and two months. Tumors were more common in females. The mean time from symptoms onset to consultation was 30 months and 8 days ± 41 months and 9 days, and almost 19.6% of the cases initially had been diagnosed and treated as TMJ dysfunction. The most frequent clinical manifestations were pain, swelling and the limitation of joint movements. The most common radiological findings in the case of benign and malignant lesions were radiopacities and radiotransparencies, respectively. No panoramic X-ray alterations were observed in 14.6% of the benign tumors and in 7.7% of the malignant lesions. Surgery was the usual form of treatment. Sequelae were recorded in 18.2% of the cases, with tumor relapse in 9.1%. The four-year survival rate in the case of malignant tumors was 72.2%. Key words:Tumor, temporomandibular joint, metaplasia, pseudotumor, condyle.

Temporomandibular arthropathies: A retrospective study with histopathological characteristics

“…Degenerative joint disease has been reported to be frequent in patients with mean age of 34 years (22), whereas advanced stages of temporomandibular joint degeneration are frequently observed in elderly or aged individuals (9,11,23,28). Osteochondroma has been reported to occur most frequently within the fourth decade of life (12,24). Synovial chondromatosis is most frequent in the fifth decade of life (12,14).…”

“…Tumors of the temporomandibular joint are infrequent but occur in young adults. Given the limited specificity of the symptoms, i.e., pain, swelling and limited joint movements, many tumors are initially diagnosed as temporomandibular disorders (12). When a patient presents with progressive facial asymmetry, a clinical evaluation and imaging techniques are indicated, and the clinical hypothesis regarding the diagnosis includes condylar hyperplasia, osteochondroma, chondroblastoma, osteoma, osteoblastoma and chondrosarcoma (13).…”

Non-surgical Treatment of Condylar Fracture in an 11-Year-Old Patient: a Case Report

“…The diagnosis of condylar neck fracture is done by means of clinical and radiographic evaluation. The most used radiographs in the diagnosis of condylar fractures are the panoramic radiography, the cranium lateral teleradiography, the cranium frontal teleradiography and cone-beam computed tomography [ 7 , 8 ].…”

Chondroid tenosynovial giant cell tumor of temporomandibular joint

“…The pathological swellings in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) can be due to various tumors and pseudotumors such as osteochondroma, chondrosarcoma, osteoid osteoma, plasmacytoma, synovial chondromatosis, eosinophilic granuloma, and pigmented villonodular synovitis. [1] Most of these tumors are rare and hence often clinically diagnosed as parotid mass or infection. [2] One example is tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT), which is a rare benign proliferative growth of the synovium which shows destructive invasion by synovial-like mononuclear cells.…”