Neurofibroma of the gingiva

Neurofibroma and Schwanoma are the tumors which have their origin from the nerve sheaths of peripheral nerves. Although common in the head and neck region, they are rarely encountered in the oral cavity. Of the oral cavity tongue is the most common site followed by buccal mucosa, floor of mouth, palate, lips and gingival in a descending order of frequency. We present a case of Neurofibroma originating from the gingiva. It apperated as a large encapsulated mass, measuring 10 cm x 8 cm, filling whole of the oral cavity. Surgery was conservative and their was no recurrence

Distant metastasis in head and neck cancers incidence, presentation and manifestations-a preliminary report

One hundred and fifty-six cases of head and neck cancers were seen at ENT Department, Civil Hospital, Karachi during a period of 6 months from July - December, 1992. A search for distant metastasis was made with the use of radiography, CT scanning and Tc-99m scintigraphy. This yielded a total 42 [26.92%] cases of advanced cancers which were screened for distant metastatic disease. Evidence of this was found in 15 cases - an incidence of 9.61% for all the registered cases and 35,71% for the short-listed cases. The metastases were mostly discovered in laryngeal, hypopharyngeal and nasopharyngeal cancers, with the lung being the commonest site of distant disease