metastatic oral and maxillofacial tumors in a tertiary referral hospital: retrospective analysis of eight cases and review of the literature

Introduction: Metastatic tumors are lesions that originate from a distant site and manifest in their secondary site remote from the primary. They are said to be rare in the maxillofacial region. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective study from the Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery and Department of Histopathology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, northwest Nigeria, from 2010 to 2016. Results: A total of 259 cases of malignant tumors were seen, of which 8 cases (3.1%) were metastasis. There were four males and four females (ratio 1:1). The age ranged from 20 to 75 years with mean ± standard deviation (55.6 ± 18.8 years). Mandible was the chosen location for all the metastatic tumors in this series with the right body-ramus region frequently involved in 4 (50%), closely followed by the left body-ramus in 3 (37.5%) and 1 (12.5%) case seen in the parasymphyseal-symphyseal region. The prostate was the most frequent primary organ that metastasized to the maxillofacial region (3, 37.5%). Conclusion: High level of suspicion is required for early identification of these lesions, and prompt referral is paramount as these tumors can be the first evidence of hidden malignancy at distant sites such as prostate, colon, lungs, breast, and kidneys.