Gingival metastasis of a bronchogenic adenocarcinoma: report of a case

We report the case of a 64-year-old patient suffering from a multiple metastatic bronchial adenocarcinoma, referred to our department for a gingival tumefaction. The diagnostic assumptions considered were those of a pyogenic granuloma, of a primary gingival carcinoma, or of a metastasis of the bronchial tumor. An excisional biopsy was carried out and the histopathologic examination confirmed the latter diagnosis. No complementary care was performed because of the multiple localizations and unfavorable prognosis. If metastases of pulmonary cancers represent the majority of gingival metastases, those of bronchial adenocarcinoma are very rare. Metastatic process could be facilitated by Batson's plexus, through the periodontal inflammation or the direct bronchotracheal way. The main clinical diagnostic difficulty is the distinction between benign lesion and malignant lesion, and between primary lesion and metastasis. Even if gingival metastases are rare, their semiological value incites the histopathologic examination of any presumedly benign tumor of the gingiva.