Trends in Burkitt's lymphoma: a three-decade retrospective study from Uganda

Oral maxillofacial tumors and tumor-like conditions: a Ugandan survey

AIM

Currently, there is very little information from Uganda as to the range and prevalence of oral diseases in children. Most of these studies focus on prevalence of caries, periodontal disease, malocclusions, and trauma to teeth. Since the epidemiology of oral maxillofacial tumors is variable between regions yet there are no publications on this entity in the pediatric population available from Uganda, the authors of this study decided to carry out the first Ugandan retrospective survey.

DESIGN

All entries for specimens from children between the ages of 0 and 16 years during the 5-year period from 2006 to 2010 were retrieved and compiled into five diagnostic categories.

RESULTS

During the study period, 610 (29.33%) specimens came from children between the ages of 0 and 16 years, with a male to female ratio of 1.29:1. The diagnostic category with the largest number of specimens was malignant (61.08%), followed by inflammatory/reactive lesions (16.07%) and benign tumors (12.13%). In all, there were 51 benign tumors of non-odontogenic origin and 23 odontogenic tumors. The most frequently diagnosed lesions were Burkitt's lymphoma, which accounted for over 55.24% of all cases. This was followed by irritation fibromas that accounted for 5.74% of all cases.

CONCLUSIONS

This survey shows that, while nearly 29% of cases biopsied at the authors' unit are from children under 16 years of age, the majority of lesions are malignant. Burkitt's lymphoma took up the lion's share; this entity requires chemotherapeutic treatment, hence there is need to strengthen medical oncology. Odontogenic tumors are relatively rare in this age group; however, certain lesions such as adenomatoid odontogenic tumor are common in children and therefore should be considered when we have failed maxillary canine eruption.