Hepatocellular carcinoma metastatic to the mandible

We describe the case of a 55-year-old man with known multifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who presented with a painful mandibular mass. Fine-needle aspiration cytology of the mass revealed the presence of bile canaliculi and bile formation, an extremely rare finding. Findings on immunoperoxidase staining of the aspirate were consistent with an HCC. Since the patient was known to have multiorgan metastatic disease, he was administered palliative radiation therapy to the mandibular metastasis for pain control, which was achieved. One year after presentation, the patient died as a result of disease progression. HCC rarely metastasizes to the mandible, as only about 70 such cases have been reported in the literature. We discuss the histopathologic appearance of HCC metastatic to the mandible, the radiologic findings, and the established treatment modalities.