Oral manifestations of lymphoma: a systematic review

Abstract

Lymphoma is a malignant disease with two forms: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is diagnosed in extranodal sites in 40% of cases, and the head and neck region is the second most affected, with an incidence of 11–33%, while HL has a very low incidence in extranodal sites (1–4%). The aim of this study was to identify the oral manifestations of lymphoma through a systematic literature review, which we conducted using the PubMed, Lilacs, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. We found 1456 articles, from which we selected 73. Among the intraoral findings, the most frequent were ulcerations, pain, swelling, and tooth mobility, while the extraoral findings included facial asymmetry and cervical, submandibular, and submental lymphadenopathy. Among the few studies reporting imaging findings, the most cited lesions included hypodense lesions with diffuse boundaries, bone resorptions, and tooth displacements. The publications reviewed highlight gaps in the areas of early detection, diagnosis, and proper treatment.

Diffuse Swelling of Salivary and Lacrimal Glands as a First and only Manifestation of Non-Hodgkin B-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report

“…A good medical history, detailed clinical and imaging evaluations, and attention to the patient's signs and symptoms are crucial for the correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment. [2] In the present case, a diagnosis of B-cell lymphoma was suspected when a sudden increase in the facial swellings was noticed which indicated the possibility of emergence of a pathology other than the initial benign lymphoepithelial lesion. It is difficult to give a definitive diagnosis pre-operatively based on fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) [17] , therefore surgical excision is preferable in such cases.…”

“…Lymphoma has two forms: Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Head and neck lymphomas are mainly non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with an incidence of 11-33% [2,3] The most common sites of growth are salivary glands, eyes, nasopharynx, maxillary sinuses and rarely the floor of the mouth and lips [4] .…”

Follicular Lymphomas of Oral Region Treated by Rituximab Monotherapy: About Two Cases

“…It resulted in delayed proper treatment, therefore allowing the progression Montaner et al J Hematol. 2018;7(1):23-28 of the lymphoma [4]. In our first case, the palatal hyperplasia overlying the removable prosthesis could also have been misdiagnosed as a fibro-epithelial polyp or a reactive hyperplasia.…”

“…Lymphomas are not so rare in the oral cavity and we must not forget that local lesions can be caused by general pathology. A delayed diagnosis is detrimental for the patient when it reaches several months, while follicular lymphoma prognosis is very good with early diagnosis and appropriate therapy [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…Most of these lymphomas occur in the Waldeyer ring [3]. Occurrence of lymphoma in the oral cavity is relatively rare, accounting for approximately 3.5% of oral malignancies [4]. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DL-CBL) is the most common form, followed by follicular lymphoma (FL) [2].…”