title: Myofibromas presenting in the oral cavity: a series of 9 cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Solitary myofibromas are well described in the head and neck, but oral examples are less well known, and jaw lesions are rare. We studied the clinicopathologic features of a series of such lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine cases of oral myofibromas were retrieved from archives and studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two cases involved the mandible (intraosseous), 3 involved the gingiva, 2 involved the tongue, and 2, the hard palate. There were 4 men and 5 women, aged 9 months to 50 years (mean, 24 years; median, 27 years). Deep lesions showed typical histology, with paucicellular lobules and intervening hemangiopericytoma-like zones. In ulcerated submucosal lesions, these features blended superficially with cellular fascicles. The tumors expressed smooth muscle actin but lacked desmin and S100 protein. None of the tumors recurred or metastasized.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Myofibromas appear in osseous, intramuscular, and submucosal aspects of the oral cavity. Ulceration imparts a fascicular appearance that makes superficial biopsy specimens difficult to interpret.
authors.affiliation: The Johns Hopkins University Hosptial, Baltimore, MD, USA. emontgom@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Speight
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fisher
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000032:analysis; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D003893:Desmin / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005887:Gingival Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D006393:Hemangiopericytoma / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007573:Jaw Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008339:Mandibular Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008441:Maxillary Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D019226:Oral Ulcer / Q000473:pathology; D010159:Palate / Q000473:pathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D003893:Desmin; D009418:S100 Proteins