Objective: This study aims to determine the clinical features which are helpful as significant indicators in the diagnosis of malignant and nonmalignant nonodontogenic orofacial tumors.
Materials and methods: This was a prospective study performed on patients with swellings in the oral and maxillofacial region clinically suspicious of being tumors of nonodontogenic origin in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution. The statistical variables that were analyzed included patients' resume, clinical and radiological features as well as the histopathological diagnosis of the lesions. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Inferential analysis was done using Student's t-test, Chi-square, binary logistic regression, and adjusted odds ratio as appropriate.
Results: There were forty patients histopathologically diagnosed as nonodontogenic tumors of the orofacial region. Twenty-five (62.5%) were females and 15 (37.5%) were males with mean age of 36 ± 21.9 years. Histopathological features showed three different categories of the lesions: Reactive and benign (nonmalignant) and the malignant lesions. Lymphadenopathy (P = 0.035) and nonmobility of the swellings (P = 0.029) were significant clinical indicators that were strongly associated with histological diagnosis of the malignant nonodontogenic tumors.
Conclusion: This study showed that the nonodontogenic tumors occurred mostly in younger patients with a female preponderance. The mandible and the preauricular region were the most common sites. Lymphadenopathy and nonmobility of the swellings were strong clinical indicators for the diagnosis of the malignant nonodontogenic tumors.
Keywords: Clinical indicators; diagnosis; nonodontogenic tumors.