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Metastasis of a ductal breast carcinoma to the buccal mucosa of the mandible with tooth involvement

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Abstract

Background

We present a metastatic tumour from the breast to the gingiva, with the rare finding of tooth invasion. Metastatic tumours to the oral region are uncommon. The breast is the most common primary site for metastatic tumours to the jawbones in women, with the mandible being most often affected.

Case report

We report the case of a 52-year-old Caucasian woman who presented with a swelling of the buccal mucosa in the molar region of the left mandible. Biopsy revealed a metastatic lesion, with involvement of the two adjacent molars. Immunohistochemical analysis ruled out other malignancies and confirmed the diagnosis of a ductal breast carcinoma origin.

Discussion

Management in such cases should be in the context of the treatment of a metastatic disease that could prolong survival and improve quality of life, but is not curative. Tooth invasion has been described since 1910 for different primary malignancies with distant metastases to the oral cavity. This report seems to describe the second case in the literature of a metastatic breast carcinoma to the mandible with tooth invasion. Management in such cases should be in the context of the treatment of a metastatic disease that could prolong survival and improve quality of life, but is not curative.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Theagenion Cancer Hospital of Thessaloniki, Davaki 18, 572 00, Lagadas, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Nikos Kechagias, Aris Ntomouchtsis, Anna Patrikidou & Konstantinos Vahtsevanos

  2. Department of Histopathology, Theagenion Cancer Hospital of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Barbara Christoforidou

  3. 3rd Department of Medical Oncology, Theagenion Cancer Hospital of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Charalambos Andreadis

Authors
  1. Nikos Kechagias
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  2. Aris Ntomouchtsis
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  3. Anna Patrikidou
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  4. Barbara Christoforidou
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  5. Charalambos Andreadis
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  6. Konstantinos Vahtsevanos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nikos Kechagias.

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Kechagias, N., Ntomouchtsis, A., Patrikidou, A. et al. Metastasis of a ductal breast carcinoma to the buccal mucosa of the mandible with tooth involvement. Oral Maxillofac Surg 16, 377–381 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-011-0300-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-011-0300-y

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