Abstract
Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is a rare condition that occurs normally in the anterior maxilla of infants aged <1 year. The use of clinical and imaging tools for MNTI is extremely important to prevent problems with function as well as the aesthetic features in a breastfeeding child. Brazil is a multiethnic country with a poor epidemiological policy and little data to track the incidence of certain diseases, including MNTI. It is important to study this pathology with ethnicity as a factor to improve the current epidemiological programs and establish better post-treatment management. This paper describes a case of a 2-month-old male of African-indigenous descent and Brazilian Amazon residency, who presented to our unit in 2009 with a history of an expanding mass involving the anterior maxilla. Clinical and computerized tomography scans were used to diagnose the mass as MNTI, which was removed by total excision. A biopsy later confirmed the MNTI diagnosis.
Highlights
Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is an extremely unusual, benign osteolytic neoplasm of neural crest origin [1] previously referred to as melanoameloblastoma, pigmented congenital epulis, melanotic progonoma, and other synonymous terms [2], and is classified as a congenital anomaly of the face and neck according to WHO ICD-10 [3]
MNTI affects infants in the first year of life [4] with no sex predilection [5], and since the time it was first reported by Krompecher in 1918 [6], approximately 360 cases have been described in the medical literature
Case presentation A 2-month-old normally developed male of Africanindigenous descent with no relevant medical history presented to the oral surgery department at Ophir Loyola Hospital (Belem, Para, Brazil) in 2009 with a history of an expanding mass that involved the anterior maxilla, observed since his birth, that interfered with breathing and feeding
Summary
Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is an extremely unusual, benign osteolytic neoplasm of neural crest origin [1] previously referred to as melanoameloblastoma, pigmented congenital epulis, melanotic progonoma, and other synonymous terms [2], and is classified as a congenital anomaly of the face and neck according to WHO ICD-10 [3]. This case reports MNTI in a 2-month-old male of African-indigenous descent, who presented to the oral. Case presentation A 2-month-old normally developed male of Africanindigenous descent (a background in Brazil referred to as “cafuzo”) with no relevant medical history presented to the oral surgery department at Ophir Loyola Hospital (Belem, Para, Brazil) in 2009 with a history of an expanding mass that involved the anterior maxilla, observed since his birth, that interfered with breathing and feeding. Oral examination showed prematurely erupted teeth and a firm, non-ulcerated, reddish-bluish tumor of approximately 4 cm × 4 cm in size, extending from the alveolar ridge to the hard palate, displacing the overlying cheek and lip and covered by intact mucosa (Figure 1).
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