J Oral Maxillofac Surg 71:47-52, 2013 Primary Jaw Tumors in Children Shelly Abramowicz, DMD, MPH,* Batya R. Goldwaser, DMD,† Maria J. Troulis, DDS, MSc,‡ Bonnie L. Padwa, DMD, MD,§ and Leonard B. Kaban, DMD, MD Purpose: To document tumor type, biological/clinical behavior, management, and outcomes in chil- dren with primary jaw tumors. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of children with primary benign jaw tumors evalu- ated at Massachusetts General Hospital and Children’s Hospital Boston from 1991 to 2009 was con- ducted. Patients were included if they were aged 16 years or younger and had adequate records and follow-up. Patient charts, radiographs, and pathology reports were reviewed. Demographic data; clinical, radiographic, and histopathologic findings; treatment; and outcomes were recorded. Predictor variables were tumor type, clinical behavior (nonaggressive/aggressive), and treatment. Outcome variables in- cluded presence or absence of recurrence and complications. Descriptive statistics were computed. Results: There were 102 patients (44 male and 58 female patients) with a mean age of 8.3 years (range, 6 months to 16 years). Tumors were grouped by tumor type: mesenchymal (n = 96), neurogenic (n = 5), vascular (n = 5), or hematopoietic (n = 3); in addition, when appropriate, they were classified as nonaggressive (n = 54) or aggressive (n = 27). Treatment was based on the tumor’s clinical/biological behavior and radiographic features and whether it was solitary or multifocal. Patients with nonaggressive tumors were treated by enucleation, debulking/contouring, or observation, and the recurrence rate was 0%. Aggressive tumors underwent en bloc resection or enucleation with systemic adjuvant therapy, and the recurrence rate was 7.1%. Mean follow-up was 2.4 years. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that primary jaw tumors in children exhibit variable biological/clinical behavior, often not predicted by descriptive histologic findings. Management of these tumors should therefore be guided by clinical/biological behavior. © 2013 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons J Oral Maxillofac Surg 71:47-52, 2013 Primary benign jaw tumors in children are uncom- mon, and few surgeons have extensive experience with their management. 1 Chuong and Kaban, 1 in 1985, first reported a series of pediatric jaw tumors with diagnostic and treatment guidelines. They con- cluded that the benign histologic appearance does not predict the aggressive nature of some primary jaw tumors. They recommended that management be *Instructor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Har- vard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, and Attending Sur- geon, Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA. †Resident, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. ‡Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sur- gery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, and Resi- dency Program Director and Visiting Surgeon, Massachusetts Gen- eral Hospital, Boston, MA. §Associate Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sur- gery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, and Oral Surgeon-in-Chief, Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery, Chil- dren’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA. Walter C. Guralnick Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, and Chair, Depart- ment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Presented at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Associ- ation of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Chicago, IL, September 27–October 2, 2010. Supported in part by Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation/ American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Faculty Educator Development Award (S.A.), Massachusetts General Hos- pital Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Education and Research Fund (B.R.G.), and the Hanson Foundation (Boston, MA) (M.J.T.). Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None of the authors reported any disclosures. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Abramo- wicz: Department of Plastic and Oral Surgery, Children’s Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02445; e-mail: shelly .abramowicz@childrens.harvard.edu © 2013 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 0278-2391/13/7101-0$36.00/0 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2012.04.045 47