Gnathic osteosarcoma: An analysis of a single-institutional experience

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Osteosarcoma is an aggressive primary bone malignancy characterized by osteoid formation. It typically affects long bones, rarely affecting the jaws. OS of the jaws accounts has an estimated incidence of 0.7 per million. Reports of gnathic osteosarcoma from sub-Saharan Africa are few and to the best of our knowledge there is none from Northwestern Nigeria. This study aims to present our experience with gnathic osteosarcoma in our center. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of the records of patients managed on account of histologically diagnosed gnathic osteosarcoma at the Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria, between March, 2010 and March, 2017 was done. Data were recorded and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows version 20 (Armonk, NY, USA: IBM Corp.). RESULTS: A total of 431 Oral and Maxillofacial lesions were biopsied during the study period, out of which 17 (3.9%) were histologically diagnosed as osteosarcoma. Majority of the patients presented with a chief complaint of jaw swelling 9 (52.9%). The most frequently encountered histological type was the osteoblastic type 9 (52.9%). High grade tumours constituted 10 (58.8%). The patients were followed up for varying periods and recurrences were observed in 3 cases. Five (29.4%) mortalities were recorded. CONCLUSION: Despite the rarity of gnathic osteosarcomas, they still pose a daunting challenge in Oral and Maxillofacial practice. Patients often present with complaints of facial swelling, bleeding or pain. Late presentation is common in our environment and multi-modal treatment plan is often preferable.