Germ cell tumor metastatic to the oral cavity

March 31, 2012 by Luis Lee, MD, Randy Oppenheimer, MD, and Lakshmi Jayaram, MD
| Reprints

Abstract

Neoplasms metastatic to the oral cavity are rare, accounting for less than 1% of all malignancies found there. When they do occur, they are usually found in the soft tissue or mandible. Metastatic malignancies involving the gingival, alveolar, or buccal mucosa are very rare. We present a case of what appeared to be a benign epulis in a 25-year-old man. Biopsy revealed that the lesion represented metastatic testicular cancer.

IntroductionIt is estimated that at any one time in the United States, 28.2% of the population has an oral cavity lesion.1 The hard palate is the most common location (25.9% of cases), and the gingiva is the second most common (20.4%).1 Most lesions in the oral cavity are benign, and only 2% of all cancers are found there.2

ENT Journal provides full text articles to our registered members.
Please log in or sign up for a FREE membership to view the full content:

REGISTER AS A MEMBER: http://www.entjournal.com/user/register

SIGN IN: http://www.entjournal.com/user