Progression of gingival squamous cell carcinoma from early to late stage after invasive dental procedure.

Early presentation of gingival squamous cell carcinoma (GSCC) is at times misdiagnosed as a benign inflammatory or reactive oral condition. Some misdiagnosed patients undergo unnecessary, invasive dental procedures, resulting in delayed cancer diagnosis and an increased risk of accelerated disease progression due to disruption of the periosteum and cortical bone. The records of 58 patients with biopsy-proven GSCC were retrospectively reviewed. The sample included 32 patients who underwent an invasive dental procedure (IDP) prior to cancer diagnosis and 26 patients who did not undergo an IDP (non-case group). Patients from both groups initially presented with similar symptoms. The median duration of symptoms at initial clinical presentation was 6 months for the IDP group and 2 months for the non-case group. In IDP patients, symptoms worsened after the IDP was rendered, with 37.5% presenting with a severe-grade symptom. In both groups, the majority of lesions were found on the posterior mandible and had a histologic grading of moderately differentiated GSCC. The odds of the IDP group having late-stage disease were 2.94 times greater than the odds for the control group. Stage T3/T4 malignancy was diagnosed in 77.4% of the IDP patients versus 53.8% of non-case patients. Disease-specific mortality was comparable; however, surgical treatment was significantly more extensive in the IDP group than in the non-case group. The disruption of alveolar periosteum in undiagnosed oral cancer patients results in significant delay in diagnosis, necessitating more complicated treatment regimens because of local tumor progression.

Ensuring head and neck oncology patients receive recommended pretreatment dental evaluations.

PURPOSE: Head and neck (H&N) cancer therapy can have a detrimental effect on oral health by increasing the risk of dry mouth, dental caries, dental infection, and osteonecrosis of the jaw. Pretreatment dental evaluations are recommended for patients with H&N cancer before radiation therapy to minimize the risk of acute and long-term adverse effects. In an earlier effort to educate patients and community dentists about the importance of pretreatment dental evaluations, we created a dental instructional guide (DIG) that outlines the necessary components of the preradiation dental evaluation. Yet our program did not have a system for documenting which patients received the DIG. The aim of this project was to create a reliable system to ensure that patients are given the DIG before radiation therapy and that such patients are readily identifiable, allowing us to confirm that their dental evaluations are complete before starting treatment. METHODS: We implemented a tracking template within the H&N oncology program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that documents the date, patient, and clinician who gave the DIG. We used the Model for Improvement methodology and performed plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles to test and monitor the results of the template implementation. RESULTS: We showed a significant improvement in the rate of DIG documentation from a baseline of 0% (range, 0% to 0%) to a mean of 53% (range, 0% to 100%) over 3 months (P < .01). CONCLUSION: This intervention was the first step in creating a sustainable system for ensuring timely preradiation dental evaluation, thereby decreasing the risk of dental complications from H&N cancer therapy.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw: dental outcomes in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with bisphosphonates with/without bevacizumab.

The etiology, optimal management, and outcome of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) are not well understood. Because healing after mucosal trauma requires revascularization, theoretically, the combination of bevacizumab (bev) and a bisphosphonate (BP) could affect the time to development of ONJ and/or the response to dental therapy. We reviewed all cases of ONJ in metastatic breast cancer patients treated at our institution with bev+BPs and BPs alone between October 2002 and April 2010. We identified 27 ONJ patients with a median age of 57 years (range, 40 to 68 years). Seven patients received bev+BPs; 20 patients received BPs alone. Patients received intravenous zolendronate (95%), pamidronate (20%), or both (15%). Patients were treated with antibiotics (93%), alveoplasty/debridement (67%), and chlorhexidine scrub (81%). There was no difference in dental treatment between the groups or by the year of diagnosis (before 2007 versus 2007-2010). Complete resolution (CR) was achieved in 24% of all patients; 33% treated with bev+BPs, and 21% treated with BPs alone. Rates of CR improved from 15% to 33% after 2007. The median time to response was 5.6 months (range, 1.3 to 67.5 months). The addition of bev to BPs did not appear to alter the time to development of ONJ (32.6 months versus 34.6 months, respectively). The number of BP treatments administered before the diagnosis of ONJ between bev+BPs and BPs (32 doses versus 36.5 doses) was similar. However, our sample size was too small to characterize the difference statistically. Because dental management of ONJ has not changed over time at our institute, early recognition and screening may account for the improvement in dental outcomes.

Ewing sarcoma of the mandibular condyle: multidisciplinary management optimizes outcome.

BACKGROUND: Ewing sarcoma (ES) is a rare, primary malignancy of bone that occurs in childhood and early adolescence. Improved methods of diagnosis and treatment have dramatically increased survival over the last 20 years. Treatment mainstays are chemotherapy and surgical tumor resection. ES usually occurs in long bones of the axial skeleton; however, it may rarely arise in facial structures, particularly the mandible. In these cases, resection presents a challenging postsurgical reconstruction. METHODS AND RESULTS: We present the clinical findings and management of a case of ES that developed in the left mandibular condyle of a 15-year-old female. Chemotherapy and segmental mandibulectomy were used to achieve local control. An innovative temporomandibular joint reconstruction was successfully accomplished using a microvascular fibular free flap and conchal cartilage graft. CONCLUSION: Multidisciplinary management in diagnosis, treatment, and restoration of function produced an optimal result that eliminated disease and preserved aesthetics and quality of life.