Chondrosarcoma of the temporomandibular joint: a case report and review of the literature

• Lorena Gallego ^[1] ; Luis Junquera ^[1] ; Manuel F. Fresno ^[1] ; Juan Carlos de Vicente ^[1]
  1. [1] Central University Hospital, Oviedo, Spain
• Localización: Medicina oral, patología oral y cirugía bucal. Ed. inglesa, ISSN-e 1698-6946, Vol. 14, Nº. 1 (January), 2009
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Chondrosarcoma is a malignant tumor characterized by the formation of cartilage, but not bone, by tumor cells. Only 5% to 10% of chondrosarcomas occur in the head and neck, representing 0.1% of all head and neck neoplasms, with the larynx and the maxillo-nasal region being the most common sites. This report describes an unusual case of chondrosarcoma in a 54-year-old man who presented with pain and swelling in the left preauricular area. Computed tomography demonstrated a soft tissue mass in the left temporomandibular joint without causing erosion of the adjacent bony structures. The tumor was treated by excision in a single block with perilesional tissues, preserving the facial nerve. Histopathologic examination revealed chondrocytes with irregular nuclei with S-100 immunocytochemical staining positive in 30% of the tumor. The diagnosis was a grade I chondrosarcoma. There was no evidence of disease at the 16-month follow-up. The occurrence of chondrosarcoma in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is an exceptional event, with only 16 cases described. We report a case of this unusual entity and review the literature.