Search

Background: Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is an aggressive B-cell lymphoma with three variants (endemic, sporadic, and immunodeficiency-associated), presenting with specific epidemiological and clinical features. Burkitt lymphoma affects the head and neck region (BLHN) in approximately 10% of cases. The aim of this study was to undertake a comparative analysis of the clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical (IHC) features of BLHN diagnosed in patients from Africa, Guatemala, and Brazil., Methods: Cases diagnosed as BLHN were collected from the files of six oral pathology laboratory services (Brazil, South Africa, and Guatemala) and one Brazilian pediatric oncology hospital from 1986 to 2020. Clinicopathological and IHC data, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status by in situ hybridization data for each case were reviewed and described., Results: Of the 52 cases, BLHN was predominant in pediatric patients [43 (82.69%)] and males [43 (82.69%)], with a mean age of 11.26 ± 9.68 years (range, 1-39 years). Neck and cervical lymph nodes [14 (26.92%)], and involvement of both maxilla and mandible [8 (15.38%)], were the most common anatomical sites. Clinically, tumor/swelling [40 (31.25%)], cervical lymphadenopathy [14 (10.94%)], pain [12 (9.38%)], and bone destruction [12 (9.38%)] were frequent findings. All cases showed typical morphological characteristics of BL. IHC profiles included positivity for CD20 [52 (100%)], CD10 [38 (79.17%)], Bcl6 [29 (87.88%)], and c-Myc protein [18 (81.82%)]. EBV was positive in 18 cases (62.07%). The Ki-67 index ranged from 90 to 100%., Conclusion: The clinicopathological and EBV profile of BLHN in South African, Guatemalan, and Brazilian patients is similar., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The incidence of pediatric head and neck cancer (PHNC) is increasing worldwide, especially when compared with childhood cancer in general. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the demographic profile of such patients across the globe. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe demographic, topographic, and histopathological features of PHNC patients from a single Brazilian institution., Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for all cancer cases diagnosed from 1986 to 2016 affecting patients aged 19 years and younger. The demographic variables (age, gender, race), topographic aspects of primary tumors, and histopathological diagnoses were collected and analyzed by descriptive statistics., Results: Three hundred and sixty-seven (5.11%) head and neck malignant tumors were found among 7181 pediatric cancers diagnosed in this period. Mean age at diagnosis was 9.35 years with male (65.67%) predominance. Patients between the age group of 10-14 years presented the higher prevalence of malignant tumors. In terms of race, 73.02% of the patients were white and 9.54% were black. The main affected anatomic site was the neck and lymph nodes (41.42%), followed by nasopharynx (22.89%) and thyroid gland (6.54%). The most common cancer type was lymphoma (52.86%), followed by carcinoma (22.89%), and sarcoma (19.07%). Burkitt lymphoma, nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma were the most common histopathological diagnoses (16.62%, 13.08%, 12.81%, and 12.81%, respectively)., Conclusion: This study originally demonstrated that lymphomas may be more frequent than carcinomas and sarcomas in Brazilian PHNC patients., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)