Chondrosarcoma of the orofacial region. Review of the literature and report of two cases.

Chondrosarcoma of the jaws arises from vestigial rests and is considered a rare entity, although it is more common than its benign counterpart. Occasionally it may be extremely difficult under the microscope to decide whether a case is benign or malignant. The treatment of choice is surgical with wide margins. In our review of the literature we found 169 cases of oro-facial chondrosarcoma including two from our Institution. There was a 2:1 male/female ratio and the maxilla was involved twice as frequently as the mandible. Over half of the cases were between 20 and 50 years old.