Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy in an African-indigenous patient from the Amazon: a case report

• Published in: Head & face medicine Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 35
• Main Authors: Pinheiro, Thiago Pastor da Silva, Carneiro, Jr, José Thiers, de Melo Alves, Jr, Sérgio, de Jesus Viana Pinheiro, João, Tuji, Fabrício Mesquita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 25.11.2013; BioMed Central
• Subjects: African Continental Ancestry Group; Brazil - epidemiology; Case Report; Colleges & universities; Consent; CT imaging; Dentistry; Epidemiology; Ethnicity; Health aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Imaging systems; Indians, South American; Infant; Infants; Male; Maxillary Neoplasms - diagnosis; Maxillary Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Maxillary Neoplasms - ethnology; Maxillary Neoplasms - surgery; Medical imaging; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Methods; Neuroectodermal Tumor, Melanotic - diagnosis; Neuroectodermal Tumor, Melanotic - diagnostic imaging; Neuroectodermal Tumor, Melanotic - ethnology; Neuroectodermal Tumor, Melanotic - surgery; Oral Surgical Procedures; Patients; Rehabilitation; Surgery; Teeth; Tomography; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Brazil
• ISSN: 1746-160X; 1746-160X
• DOI: 10.1186/1746-160X-9-35

Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is a rare condition that occurs normally in the anterior maxilla of infants aged <1 year. The use of clinical and imaging tools for MNTI is extremely important to prevent problems with function as well as the aesthetic features in a breastfeeding child. Brazil is a multiethnic country with a poor epidemiological policy and little data to track the incidence of certain diseases, including MNTI. It is important to study this pathology with ethnicity as a factor to improve the current epidemiological programs and establish better post-treatment management. This paper describes a case of a 2-month-old male of African-indigenous descent and Brazilian Amazon residency, who presented to our unit in 2009 with a history of an expanding mass involving the anterior maxilla. Clinical and computerized tomography scans were used to diagnose the mass as MNTI, which was removed by total excision. A biopsy later confirmed the MNTI diagnosis.