Mandibular metastasis of follicular thyroid carcinoma: A case report along with a systematic review of the literature

Metastasis is one of the major complications of malignant tumors that leads to morbidity and mortality. Metastatic tumors to the oral cavity are very rare, and true incidence is still unknown. However, they are of great clinical significance as they can represent as the first and the only manifestation of dissemination in most of the cases. The most common sources of metastasis in the oral cavity are the breast, kidney, lung, prostate and Gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Thyroid carcinoma though is the most common type of endocrinal malignancy but rarely metastasizes to the oral region. Follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) is the second most common type of thyroid cancer after papillary thyroid carcinoma. It affects the jawbones more often than the soft tissues. To our knowledge, till present, literature has reported 44 cases of metastatic FTC to jawbones with mandibular predominance. With the increasing incidence of these tumors during the past few years, it has become of great concern to diagnose them at an early stage so that further complications can be eradicated. Here, we present a rare case of metastatic FTC occurring in the mandible of a 55 year old male along with a systematic review of the literature.