DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICOPATHOLOGIC DISTRIBUTION OF ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL CANCER IN PEDIATRIC BRAZILIAN PATIENTS

Objective: To determine the relative frequency and clinicopathological features of pediatric oral and maxillofacial cancer (OMC) from a single Brazilian institution. Study Design: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for all cancer cases diagnosed from 1986-2016 affecting patients aged 19 years old and younger. Demographic variables, anatomic location, and histopathological diagnoses were collected and analyzed by descriptive statistics. Results: Fifty-five (0.77%) OMC cases were found among 7181 pediatric malignancies diagnosed in this period. Mean age at diagnosis was 8 years old, with patients 5 to 9 years of age being more frequently (40%) affected than other childhood age groups. White (78.18%) male (65.45%) patients were more commonly affected by OMC. The most common cancer types affecting the oral and maxillofacial region were lymphomas (52.73%), sarcomas (27.27%) and carcinomas (20%). Burkitt lymphoma (32.73%), rhabdomyosarcoma (14.55%), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (9.09%), and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (9.09%) were the most prevalent histopathological diagnoses. The main affected anatomic sites were the oropharynx (38.18%), salivary glands (30.91%), maxillofacial bone (20%), and the oral cavity (10.91%). Conclusion: Although pediatric OMC may have a low prevalence among Brazilians, this disease group often affects a wide variation of anatomic topographies under several different histopathological patterns of biological aggressiveness, such as lymphomas and sarcomas.