Oral squamous carcinoma in a patient with cervix cancer: use of human papillomavirus analysis to differentiate synchronous versus metastatic tumor

Abstract Background Cervical cancer usually spreads by direct infiltration and disseminates by lymphatic and hematogenous pathways. The common sites of distant metastases are the lungs, liver, and bones. Other rare metastatic sites have been previously described including only one case of oral cavity metastasis. Case We present here the second case of a patient with apparent oral cavity metastasis from cervical cancer. By cloning specific human papilloma virus (HPV) genomic regions, the two lesions showed HPV genomic sequences from different viruses (18 and 33, for the uterine cervix and the oral cavity, respectively), thus indicating the oral lesion as a synchronous second primary tumor. Conclusion The use of molecular markers to distinguish between a secondary and a primary lesion is recommendable in cervical cancer, particularly when reporting rare site metastases.