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Clinicopathological Features of Metastasis to the Oral and Maxillofacial Region—Multicenter Study

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Abstract

Background

This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features of metastases in the oral and maxillofacial regions.

Methods

In this retrospective study, biopsy records were obtained from referral centers for oral and maxillofacial diagnosis in Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, and South Africa.

Results

A total of 120 cases were evaluated. Of these, 53.78% affected female patients, with a mean age of 57.64 years. Intraosseous lesions were more frequent, particularly in the posterior region of the mandible (49.58%). Clinically, most cases presented with symptomatic swelling, with an average evolution time of 25 months. The clinical diagnostic hypothesis in most instances was that of a malignant lesion. Breast cancer was the most common primary tumor location in females, while lung origin was most common in males. In most cases, the primary cancer was an adenocarcinoma (44.73%). The follow-up period was available for 29 cases, and out of these, 20 had died due to the disease.

Conclusion

Although this is a rare condition, clinicians should be aware that any oral lesions have the possibility of being metastatic, particularly in individuals with a previous history of cancer. The findings from this study could assist clinicians in prompt diagnosing these lesions and subsequent conducting oncologic assessments and treatment.

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Acknowledgements

This study is dedicated to the memory of Roman Carlos-Bregni, who gathered the data and sadly passed away prematurely. Pablo A. Vargas, Jean N. dos Santos, Lucas G. Abreu, Ricardo (A) Mesquita, Elismauro F. Mendonça, and Manoela D. Martins are research fellows funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The authors thank the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES, Finance Code 001), Brazil. Laura (B) Kirschnick, Lauren F. Schuch, and Adriana A. S. da Costa are the recipients of fellowships. Statistical analysis was performed by Lucas G. Abreu.

Funding

The authors have not disclosed any funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oral Diagnosis Department, Piracicaba Dental School, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Laura Borges Kirschnick, Lauren Frenzel Schuch, Elena María José Román Tager, Luan César da Silva, Márcio Ajudarte Lopes, Pablo Agustin Vargas & Manoela Domingues Martins

  2. Department of Pathology, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

    Rogério Gondak & Elena Riet Correa Rivero

  3. Diagnostic Center for Oral Diseases, Dental School, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Ana Paula Neutzling Gomes, Adriana Etges, Sandra Beatriz Chaves Tarquinio & Ana Carolina Uchoa Vasconcelos

  4. Department of Oral Surgery and Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Ricardo Alves Mesquita, Patrícia Carlos Caldeira & Adriana Aparecida Silva da Costa

  5. Department of Stomatology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil

    Elismauro Francisco Mendonça

  6. Department of Oral Pathology, Postgraduate Program in Dentistry and Health, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil

    Jean Nunes dos Santos

  7. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, School of Dentistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Chané Smit, Liam Robinson & Willie van Heerden

  8. Pathology Section, Clinical Center of Head and Neck/Hospital Herrera Llerandi, Guatemala City, Guatemala

    Elena María José Román Tager

  9. Health Care Department, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Xochimilco, Ciudad de México, México

    Adalberto Mosqueda-Taylor

  10. Oral Pathology, João de Barros Barreto University Hospital, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brazil

    Hélder Antônio Rebelo Pontes

  11. Department of Oral Diagnosis and Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Bruno Augusto Benevenuto de Andrade, Thamyres Campos Fonseca, Aline Corrêa Abrahão, Michelle Agostini & Mário José Romañach

  12. Stomatology Department, A. C. Camargo Hospital, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Fábio Abreu Alves, Graziella Chagas Jaguar, Nathalia Félix de Mendonça & Mariana Bitu Ramos Pinto

  13. Department of Child and Adolescent Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Lucas Guimarães Abreu

  14. Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Manoela Domingues Martins

  15. Centro de Diagnóstico das Doenças da Boca – CDDB, Faculdade de Odontologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Rua Gonçalves Chaves, 457, sala 607 , Pelotas, RS, Brazil

    Ana Carolina Uchoa Vasconcelos

Authors
  1. Laura Borges Kirschnick
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  2. Lauren Frenzel Schuch
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  3. Rogério Gondak
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  7. Sandra Beatriz Chaves Tarquinio
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  12. Jean Nunes dos Santos
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  14. Liam Robinson
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  15. Elena María José Román Tager
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  16. Adalberto Mosqueda-Taylor
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  23. Fábio Abreu Alves
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  24. Graziella Chagas Jaguar
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  28. Márcio Ajudarte Lopes
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  29. Pablo Agustin Vargas
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  30. Willie van Heerden
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  31. Lucas Guimarães Abreu
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  32. Manoela Domingues Martins
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  33. Ana Carolina Uchoa Vasconcelos
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Contributions

Study Concept: LBK, LFS, MDM, ACUV. Study Design: LBK, LFS, MDM, ACUV. Data acquisition: All authors. Quality control of data and algorithms: LBK, LFS, MDM, ACUV. Data analysis and interpretation: LBK, LFS, LGA, MDM, ACUV. Statistical analysis: LBK, LFS, LGA, MDM, ACUV. Manuscript preparation: LBK, LFS, MDM, ACUV. Manuscript editing: All authors. Manuscript review: LBK, LFS, MDM, ACUV.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Carolina Uchoa Vasconcelos.

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

This multicenter retrospective study was approved by the local Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of Pelotas (No. 12350619.8.0000.5317). The identity of the patients remained anonymous according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Kirschnick, L.B., Schuch, L.F., Gondak, R. et al. Clinicopathological Features of Metastasis to the Oral and Maxillofacial Region—Multicenter Study. Head and Neck Pathol 17, 910–920 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-023-01588-0

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