Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2011 Jan;2(1):89-92.
doi: 10.4103/0975-5950.85863.

Unicystic ameloblastoma: A diagnostic dilemma

Zainab Chaudhary  1 , Vandana Sangwan, U S Pal, Pankaj Sharma
Affiliations
Case Reports

Unicystic ameloblastoma: A diagnostic dilemma

Zainab Chaudhary et al. Natl J Maxillofac Surg. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

Ameloblastoma is a slow-growing, persistent and locally aggressive neoplasm of epithelial origin accounting for 10% out of 30% of all odontogenic tumors. According to the World Health Organization, ameloblastomas are classified into the following types: conventional, unicystic, and peripheral. Unicystic ameloblastoma (UA) refers to those cystic lesions that show clinical, radiographic, or gross features of a mandibular cyst, but on histologic examination show a typical ameloblastomatous epithelium lining part of the cyst cavity, with or without luminal and/or mural tumor growth. We report a case of young female with a radiolucent lesion in the right posterior mandible. Surgical removal of the lesion was performed, with differential diagnosis of a radicular cyst. However, histopathologic examination revealed UA. The patient was kept under observation and showed signs of local bone regeneration. The purpose of presenting this report of a clinical case of UA previously misdiagnosed as radicular cyst is to emphasize the significance of histopathologic examination of all tissue specimens recovered in surgery even when clinical and radiological finding are innocuous.

Keywords: Conservative treatment; radicular cyst; unicystic ameloblastoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Intraoral view
Figure 2
Figure 2
Panoramic radiograph demonstrating well defined unilocular radiolucent lesion in the right mandible
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photomicrograph showing cyst lined by ameloblastic epithelium with hyperchromatic polarized basal layer
Figure 4
Figure 4
Panoramic radiograph showing bone regeneration in the affected area during 12-month follow-up
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gerzenshtein J, Zhang F, Caplan J, Anand V, Lineaweaver W. Immediate mandibular reconstruction with microsurgical fibula flap transfer following wide resection for ameloblastoma. J Craniofac Surg. 2006;17:178–82. - PubMed
    1. Philipsen HP, Reichart PA. London: Quintessence Pub Co Ltd; 2004. Classification of odontogenic tumors and allied lesions. Odontogenic tumors and allied lesions; pp. 21–3.
    1. Philipsen HP, Reichart PA. London: Quintessence Pub; 2004. Unicystic ameloblastoma. Odontogenic tumors and allied lesions; pp. 77–86.
    1. Leider AS, Eversole LR, Barkin ME. Cystic ameloblastoma: A clinicopathological analysis. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1985;60:624–30. - PubMed
    1. Gardner DG, Corio RL. Plexiform unicystic ameloblastoma: Variant of ameloblastoma with a low recurrence rate after enucleation. Cancer. 1984;53:1730–5. - PubMed

Publication types