Radiological aspects of lymphomas and leukaemias affecting the jaws: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review aimed to investigate the radiological features of lymphomas and leukaemias affecting the jaws. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted using the electronic databases of PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. Articles that contained sufficient radiographic examinations (periapical, panoramic or computed tomography images) for individual cases were included. Additionally, either immunohistochemical or molecular confirmation was required prior to inclusion. Three authors evaluated and described the image quality and radiological features. RESULTS: From an initial 1079 articles screened, 129 cases were included, containing 88 tomographic, 76 panoramic and 26 periapical examinations. The quality of the majority of images was sufficient for evaluation. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, leukemic infiltration, plasmablastic lymphoma and extranodal Natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type were the most common subtypes. Involved teeth presented with mobility in 37.2% of the cases and a provisional diagnosis of inflammatory/infectious dental disease was considered in 49.2% of cases. Computed tomography exams were available for 76% of the cases, with most presented with an osteolytic lesion with ill-defined borders. Periosteal reactions were uncommon. CONCLUSION: Lymphoma/leukaemia infiltrates of the jaw bones are usually of high-grade subtypes and rarely present with periosteal reactions.

Lymphomas Affecting the Sublingual Glands: A Clinicopathological Study.

BACKGROUND: Lymphomas affecting the sublingual glands are extremely rare and very few case reports are currently available. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to describe the clinicopathological features of a series of lymphomas involving the sublingual glands. METHODS: Cases diagnosed in four pathology services were assessed and the formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were retrieved for diagnosis confirmation. Clinical data were obtained from patients' medical files. RESULTS: We obtained seven cases of lymphomas in the sublingual glands, representing two follicular lymphomas, two diffuse large B cell lymphomas not otherwise specified (DLBCL NOS), two extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphomas) and one mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). In all cases the tumor cells infiltrated the glandular parenchyma, although in two of them the neoplastic cells were located more superficially and permeated the glandular acini and ducts. Clinically, the tumors presented as asymptomatic nodules and two patients (affected by DLBCL NOS and MCL) died, while the other five patients remained alive at last follow-up. CONCLUSION: Lymphomas affecting the sublingual glands are usually of the mature B cell lineage, often represent low-grade subtypes and may clinically resemble other more common lesions in the floor of the mouth like salivary gland tumors.

CD30 Expression in Oral and Oropharyngeal Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, not Otherwise Specified.

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (DLBCL, NOS) is the most frequent non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtype. This aggressive neoplasm may variably express the CD30 protein, which may be used as a therapeutic target for this tumor. However, CD30 expression in DLBCL NOS arising from the oral cavity and the oropharynx has not been investigated. Therefore, this study aims to determine the frequency of CD30 expression and its prognostic significance for patients affected by oral/oropharyngeal DLBCL NOS. Fifty cases were retrieved from pathology files and submitted to immunohistochemistry against CD30. Reactivity was accessed by two oral pathologists using two cut-off values (> 0% and > 20% of tumor cells) to determine positivity in each case. Clinical data were obtained from the patients' medical files to investigate the prognostic potential of the protein. Seven high-grade B cell lymphomas and two EBV-positive DLBCL NOS were identified. We found one CD30-positive case in each of these two groups of lymphomas. Among the remaining 41 DLBCL NOS, other four cases (three in the oral cavity and one in the oropharynx) were positive for CD30, but only two expressed the protein in > 20% of tumor cells, both in the oral cavity. Survival analysis demonstrated that CD30-positive cases had a higher five-year overall survival rate (75%) than CD30-negative cases (32.3%), although a statistically significant result was not achieved (p = 0.19). Only a minor subset of oral and oropharyngeal DLBCL NOS express CD30 and these patients seems to have a higher survival rate.