Neurofibromas of the oral and maxillofacial complex: A 48‐year retrospective study

Abstract

Neurofibromas are benign neoplasms of the peripheral nerve sheath, characterized by the proliferation of Schwann cells, perineural cells and endoneural fibroblasts.Their occurrence in the oral and maxillofacial complex is uncommon. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and histopathological characteristics of neurofibromas of the oral and maxillofacial complex excised at our institution over a 48-year period.Using light microscopy, two previously trained oral pathologists re-evaluated all hematoxylin and eosin slides. From a total of 15,375 cases diagnosed at a referred Oral Pathology Service, 24 cases were diagnosed as neurofibromas. Eighteen neurofibroma patients were female, with a mean age of 39.1 years. Three patients presenting neurofibromas exhibited neurofibromatosis type I. Clinically, most of the lesions presented as asymptomatic nodules, and the most frequent sites were the tongue (n = 6; 25.0%), gingiva (n = 6; 25.0%) and intraosseous maxillary bone region (n = 3; 12.5%). Histopathologically, the lesions were predominantly well delimited, exhibiting interlocking bundles of spindle-shaped cells that usually displayed wavy nuclei, associated with delicate collagen fibers. Thus, knowledge of their clinical and histopathological features by dentists and oral pathologists is essential for the correct diagnosis of these lesions. K E Y W O R D Sdiagnosis, mouth neoplasms, nerve sheath neoplasms, pathology

Clinical Features and Management of Oral Nonodontogenic Masses in Children

“…The oral clinical presentation includes gingival enlargement and pigmentation, dental abnormalities, dental caries, neoplastic lesions and osseous lesions. The tongue is the most commonly affected region of oral neuro broma [39]. In our study, the symptom of two cases were oral neoplastic lesion of NF-1 patients, both located in tongue, and only one patient's mother has similar clinical features.…”

Benign connective and soft‐tissue neoplasms of the oral and maxillofacial region: Cross‐sectional study of 1066 histopathological specimens

“…Conversely, Tamiolakis et al 39 reported granular cell tumor to be the most common neoplasm. Neural neoplasms can occasionally arise as intraosseous lesions 40,41 . As previously reported, neurofibroma was the most common neural tumor to arise in bone, with the posterior mandible the preferred site of occurrence 10,41‐43 .…”

“…The literature on benign CSTNs of the oral and maxillofacial region is somewhat scarce and most original articles are focused on a single tumor or a specific group of tumors 6‐55 . Therefore, the aim of the present study was to describe the demographic and clinical features of benign CSTNs occurring in the oral and maxillofacial region in order to (1) characterize benign oral and maxillofacial CSTNs as a group and (2) identify similarities and differences that could aid in the clinical differential diagnosis.…”

“…Benign CSTNs of the oral and maxillofacial region are a heterogeneous group of adipocytic, neural, vascular, osseous, cartilaginous, muscular, fibrohistiocytic, fibroblastic, and myofibroblastic tumors 4,5 . Some of these neoplasms are rare in head and neck region, whereas others have a preference for this region 6‐55 . Importantly, benign oral and maxillofacial CSTNs are associated with systemic diseases.…”

“…These CSTNs usually appear as nodular or tumoral, painless, slow‐growing, pink lesions (normal mucosal color), except for specific groups, such as intraosseous and vascular neoplasms 6‐55 . Some CSTNs share similar microscopic features, requiring complementary techniques, such as immunohistochemistry, to achieve the pathologic diagnosis 6‐55 …”