- Home
- MedBound Hub
- InternshipInternship
- BiographyBiography
- InterviewInterview
- Medicine
- Pharmacy
- Physical Therapy
- Biotechnology
- College/InstituteCollege/Institute
- Dentistry
- Blog
- Wellness & Nutrition
- Nursing
- Opinion
- Videos
A 78-year-old man who was suffering from toothache went to his dentist’s office to get relief from the discomfort. The dentist decided to remove the problematic tooth after an examination, providing the quick relief that the patient expected. Following the tooth extraction procedure, the patient was sent home. However, the patient noticed that his jaw began to swell and caused more pain.
The concerned patient returned to his dentist for a follow-up visit. The dentist had asked the patient to get a CT scan done. The CT scan revealed a lesion in the jaw. After further investigation and multiple tests, the dentist confirmed and diagnosed the lesion as prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer remains the leading cancer among men and is the fourth most common cancer globally. Annually, around 400,000 people globally succumb to this disease.
Prostate is a gland located in the male pelvis that produces around one-third of the total seminal fluid. A cancer of the prostate usually develops slowly and is low-grade with no symptoms in the initial stages. In the late stages, the symptoms may include:
Fatigue from anemia
Paralysis from spinal metastases
Bone pain
Renal failure [1]
Prostate cancer, like many other cancers, can metastasize to the jaw.
Dr. Andrej Bozic, Oral Surgeon
Dr. Bozic explained that metastatic prostate cancer is a condition where prostate cancer spreads to other sites of the body. Due to the rich blood supply and active bone marrow in the jawbone, it is favorable for the metastatic cancer cells to settle and grow there. While it is very rare for this condition to occur in the jaw, it is often a sign that cancer has spread extensively.
It is challenging to diagnose prostate metastatic cancer in the oral cavity since the symptoms can be overlapped with common dental issues.
Dr. Bozic also said that some individuals might experience numbness or tingling in the jaw, which could indicate nerve involvement.
This rare case with the unusual symptom of swelling of the jaw that developed after tooth extraction provided a vital clue that led to the diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer.
References:
1. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Lipid Metabolism. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470550/.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Nethra Suryanarayanan)
