Metastasis to oral cavity – a review

Cancer is a complex disease involving multifactorial sequential processes. Metastasis is a complex biological course that begins with detachment of tumor cells from the primary tumor, spreading into the distant tissues and/or organs, invading through the lymphovascular structures followed by their survival in the circulation. Metastatic tumors to the oro-facial region are uncommon and may occur in the oral soft tissues or jawbones. The clinical presentation of metastatic tumors can be indistinct, which may lead to erroneous diagnosis or may create diagnostic difficulty. Most of the literature on oral metastases involves either single case reports or reviews of these reported cases from various geographical centres. Hence this review article is an attempt to provide a detailed review of pathogenesis, epidemiological details including clinical and radiographic presentations, microscopic features and treatment of metastatic tumors to the jaws and oral cavity.