Gingival metastasis from a prostate adenocarcinoma: report of a case

J Periodontol. 1999 Apr;70(4):441-4. doi: 10.1902/jop.1999.70.4.441.

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the cause of 10% of cancer-related deaths in males in the United States. Metastases are found late in the course of the disease. Metastatic tumors of the oral cavity are rare, representing about 1% of oral tumors and affect jaws much more frequently than soft tissues. Metastatic prostate cancer tends to involve the bones of the axial skeleton. In a recent review, 22 cases of metastases to the jawbones from prostate cancer were found in 390 cases. On the other hand, only 1 case of a metastasis to the oral soft tissues was reported. The authors describe the second case of oral soft tissue metastasis from a prostate cancer. The metastatic lesion was located in the gingiva. Clinicians should be aware of oral soft tissue metastases since they can be the first sign of a not yet diagnosed malignant tumor and they can be very easily confused with several different benign lesions.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / secondary*
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Gingival Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Maxilla
  • Middle Aged
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Soft Tissue Neoplasms / secondary*