A Clinico-Pathologic Study of 142 Orofacial Tumors in Children and Adolescents in Southern Iran

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence, patients’ age and sex and the site of the lesions are important factors for diagnosis and they may be different in various populations. The aim of this study was to determine the type and distribution of orofacial tumors among children and adolescents in an Iranian population METHODS: In this retrospective, case series study, data about the type, age, sex and site of 142 tumors in patients ≤18 years afflicted with orofacial neoplasms referred 2005-2009 to two referral centers in Shiraz, Southern Iran, were collected and analyzed. FINDINGS: There were 142 (2.8%) tumors among the subjects. The most common types of benign and malignant tumors were odontoma and lymphoma in children and pleomorphic adenoma and rhabdomyosarcoma in adolescents. Parotid and posterior parts of the mandible were the most common sites of soft tissue and intrabony tumors. In the oral cavity, the palate was the most common affected site. The tumors were found in boys with higher frequency (Male:Female ratio was 1.4:1). CONCLUSION: The observed differences in tumor type and distribution in comparison with previous studies may be attributed to genetic and geographic variations in the populations; however the design and methods of the studies are different, too.