Maxillary haemangiopericytoma: a case report.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Haemangiopericytoma is a very rare slow-growing vascular tumour with a variable malignant potential, constituting less than 1% of all neoplasms. It may arise from any blood vessel and in any organ of the body. Primary haemangiopericytoma of bone is even rarer, constituting about 0.1% of bone tumours. The tumour is extremely rare in Africans and particularly in the head and neck region. STUDY DESIGN: We describe the case of a 66-year old Nigerian with haemangiopericytoma of the maxilla, who presented with a recurrent but painless jaw mass. RESULTS: Surgical resection of this tumour is potentially bedevilled with the risk of torrential haemorrhage and high rate of recurrence. This risk may be substantially reduced by wide surgical resection with a careful microscopical examination of the resection margins and the institution of adjuvant radiotherapy in incompletely resected tumours. Chemotherapy has no known role in the management of haemangiopericytoma. Postoperative radiation therapy appears to be effective against tumour recurrence. CONCLUSION: Even then, long-term follow-up is essential in all cases. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this entity in an African.