Rapidly-growing buccal mass in a 6-month-old infant

Rapidly growing facial tumor in a 5-year-old girl

“…Lipoblastoma is a very rare tumor of embryonic fat cells, characteristic of children under 3 years of age, accounting for 90% of the cases described. [ 4 9 10 ] These tumors are very rare in the head and neck. A review conducted by Dutton et al .,[ 11 ] which includes a series described in literature until 2011, reports on 411 cases, of which 68% were lipoblastomas and 32% were lipoblastomatosis; of these, only 17% were in the head and neck; 54 cases in the neck and 19 cases in the face and head.…”

“…The pathogenesis is unknown, though they are believed to arise from altered embryogenesis of human white fat and genetic predisposition, as chromosome 8 abnormalities may contribute to the development of lipoblastoma. [ 5 9 11 ] The diagnosis of these lesions is only simple if there is an appropriate clinical context and MRI confirms a fatty lesion. [ 5 6 9 29 ] Although there are no pathognomonic signs of lipoblastoma, some fundamental aspects must be considered, such as clinical characteristics of the lesion (soft, movable, nonpainful, rapid growth, almost exclusive to children, and rarely produces symptoms until growth, which can cause deformity or compression symptoms resulting in swallowing difficulty or even Horner's syndrome)[ 1 5 7 9 25 ] and diagnostic imaging, specifically MRI, which is considered the test of choice to determine a diagnosis because it allows confirmation of an adipose tissue tumor and its relationship with adjacent structures and is useful for follow-up and early diagnosis of recurrence.…”

“…[ 5 9 11 ] The diagnosis of these lesions is only simple if there is an appropriate clinical context and MRI confirms a fatty lesion. [ 5 6 9 29 ] Although there are no pathognomonic signs of lipoblastoma, some fundamental aspects must be considered, such as clinical characteristics of the lesion (soft, movable, nonpainful, rapid growth, almost exclusive to children, and rarely produces symptoms until growth, which can cause deformity or compression symptoms resulting in swallowing difficulty or even Horner's syndrome)[ 1 5 7 9 25 ] and diagnostic imaging, specifically MRI, which is considered the test of choice to determine a diagnosis because it allows confirmation of an adipose tissue tumor and its relationship with adjacent structures and is useful for follow-up and early diagnosis of recurrence. [ 5 6 9 29 ] Radiologically, these lesions show fat density in all sequences, revealing high-intensity masses in T1- and T2-weighted sequences and hypointense masses in fat-suppressed sequences, usually without peripheral infiltration, except for lipoblastomatosis infiltrating muscle.…”

“…[ 5 6 9 29 ] Radiologically, these lesions show fat density in all sequences, revealing high-intensity masses in T1- and T2-weighted sequences and hypointense masses in fat-suppressed sequences, usually without peripheral infiltration, except for lipoblastomatosis infiltrating muscle. [ 1 4 7 9 ]…”

“…After a thorough study of clinical and radiological data, the differential diagnosis should be limited to lesions showing similar characteristics such as lipoma, hibernoma, and malignant lesions such as liposarcoma. [ 1 2 4 9 ]…”