Malignant mandibular tumors: two case reports of rare mandibular tumors in a single institution

Abstract

Mandibular lesions can be benign or malignant, malignant being less common. The most common malignant tumor of mandible is squamous cell carcinoma. Others are ameloblastic carcinoma,  osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma and metastasis. Osteosarcoma is a bone tumor. It can occur in any bone, usually in the long bones of the extremities, but osteosarcoma of mandible is rare. In the initial phase, they may present as nondescript bony swellings with an indolent growth, only to become malignant towards the later stages. Osteosarcomas of the jaw are rare and they differ from osteosarcomas of the long bones in their biological behavior, even though they have the same histological appearance. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is the most common soft-­‐tissue sarcoma, but  relatively uncommon in head and neck region with only 30 reported cases till date. The purpose of this report is to present two cases of rare malignant mandibular tumors in a single institution.

KEY WORDS: Osteosarcoma; Malignant fibrous histiocytoma; Mandible