Actinomycosis of the jaws--histopathological study of 45 patients shows significant involvement in bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis and infected osteoradionecrosis

Virchows Arch. 2007 Dec;451(6):1009-17. doi: 10.1007/s00428-007-0516-2. Epub 2007 Oct 20.

Abstract

Actinomycosis of the jaws is a rare disease, which has been recently described in patients with infected osteoradionecrosis (IORN) and bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis (BON). We investigated our archive material for Actinomycosis of the jaws with special regard to underlying disease. Out of a total number of 45 patients with Actinomycosis, 43 (93.5%) suffered from BON (58.7%) or IORN (35.6%), while there were only 3 patients (6.7%) without anti-tumor treatment. In all cases, we found direct association of Actinomyces colonies with bone; in the surrounding medullary space, mixed inflammatory infiltrates with variable amounts of osteoclasts were a typical finding. Pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia occurred in 60.9% of patients. Cell-rich vessel obliteration was seen in less than 25.9% of BON patients, while hyalinized vessel obliteration was obtained in 37.5% of IORN patients. Additionally performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on paraffin-embedded and ethylene diamine tetracetic acid (EDTA)-decalcified tissue specimens confirmed the presence of Actinomyces israelii in seven of seven cases analyzed. We conclude that Actinomycosis of the jaws is a particular complication in patients with BON and/or IORN. Patients with Actinomycosis of the jaws during or after these forms of anti-cancer therapy are suggested to represent a distinct patient cohort with a relevant impairment of their general condition.

MeSH terms

  • Actinomyces / genetics
  • Actinomyces / isolation & purification
  • Actinomyces / ultrastructure
  • Actinomycosis / microbiology
  • Actinomycosis / pathology*
  • Actinomycosis / surgery
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Bone Density Conservation Agents / adverse effects*
  • Bone Diseases, Infectious / microbiology
  • Bone Diseases, Infectious / pathology*
  • DNA, Bacterial / analysis
  • Diphosphonates / adverse effects*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Jaw
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Osteonecrosis / chemically induced
  • Osteonecrosis / microbiology
  • Osteonecrosis / pathology*
  • Osteoradionecrosis / microbiology
  • Osteoradionecrosis / pathology*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Bone Density Conservation Agents
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • Diphosphonates