Head and Neck Lymphomas - Diagnostic Difficulties

Malignant lymphomas represent approximately 5% of all malignant neoplasm of the head and neck and may involve nodal or extranodal sites. The head and neck region is the second most frequent anatomical site of extranodal lymphomas (after the gastrointestinal tract). Most are non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) of B-cell lineage. Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) rarely occurs in extranodal site.The aim of the study was to evaluate head and neck manifestation of lymphoma (both HL and NHL) and emphasize diagnostic difficulties of these pathologies.Material and methods. Retrospective review of medical records of patients diagnosed for lymphomas in our department was performed. Authors analyzed demographic data as well as clinical manifestation and diagnostic trials.Results. 9 patients were included to the study. 7 of them suffered from extranodal NHL and 2 of them from HL (one patient - extranodal and one nodal manifestation). There were diagnostic complications in all cases and final diagnosis was made after surgical material analysis.Conclusions. This data demonstrate low sensivity of fine needle aspiration for identification of lymphoma as well as clinical picture is non characteristic

Myxofibrosarcoma Mimicking Inflammatory Lesion of Temporomandibular Joint—Case Presentation

Treating oncologic patients remains a challenge for surgeons aiming to provide patients with safe margins of resection while maintaining the highest possible quality of life. The latter, in the case of malignancies, requires using sophisticated methods of reconstruction. Thus, we present a case of a 75-year-old patient treated in our department with a rare neoplasm in the region of the temporomandibular joint—a myxofibrosarcoma that was mimicking an inflammatory lesion. The patient underwent two surgeries—firstly alloplasty of the TMJ due to the suspicion of an inflammatory lesion, lately extended to the resection of glenoid fossa and subtemporal fossa contents when the mandible was reconstructed using UHMW-PE (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene). The patient was also referred for adjuvant radiotherapy and has remained disease-free for over 96 months with very good aesthetics and function of the mandible. The presented case highlights not only the need for increased oncologic awareness but also the possible use of UHMW-PE as a reconstruction material in the broad resection of the maxillofacial region