Soft tissue sarcoma of the orofacial region: Our experience with 64 cases

Introduction: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are solid malignancies mostly of mesodermal origin whose rarity and variety present formidable challenges in characterization and treatment. According to Pisters and Brennan, STS make up <1% of all oral malignancies. Like other tumors, they can occur at any anatomical site and at any age. The extremities and trunk are favored sites for occurrence and only about 5–10% of STS occur in the head and neck region. STS have varied cell origin, but all STS are considered as a group because of the similarities in their clinical features, natural history, treatment, and disease outcome. Patients and Methods: Medical records of patients with histopathologically diagnosed malignant oral and maxillofacial tumors between January 2003 and December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed at the Maxillofacial Unit, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Results: There were more male than female in a ratio of 1.28:1.The age range from 7 months to 70 years with a mean of 29.3 years and 37.8% being <20 and about 62.2% being above 20 years. Rhabdomyosarcoma was the most common lesion (39%) followed by fibrosarcoma (15.6%), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (7.8%). The most common site was the mandible followed by the cheek, palate, and maxilla. Some patients had both mandible and cheek involved while other had both palate and maxilla involved. The most frequent mode of treatment was surgery followed by radio and chemotherapy. A few patients declined therapy. Conclusion: STS remains a challenge in our center due to late presentation and affordability of treatment by our patients. Another contributing factor is the believe that cancer cannot be treated with orthodox medicine.