Pigmented dentinogenic ghost cell tumor: a unique case report and a review of the literature

Abstract

Dentinogenic ghost cell tumors are rare tumors, and few cases of them were reported in the literature. The presence of pigment in odontogenic lesions is a rare unexplained histological finding. In this report, we describe a unique case of a 7-year-old girl that was referred to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery complaining of a left mandibular swelling. Clinical examination revealed a huge, ulcerated mass. Both incisional and excisional biopsies revealed a benign infiltrative odontogenic tumor with admixed ameloblast-like cells and pigmented ghost cells, consistent with a pigmented dentinogenic ghost cell tumor. To the best of our knowledge, this is the youngest case of intraosseous dentinogenic ghost cell tumor reported in the English literature and the second report of a pigmented variant. This rare variant should be included in the differential of pigmented odontogenic lesions to avoid misinterpretation, especially in small biopsies.

Keywords: Dentinogenic ghost cell tumors; Pediatric odontogenic tumors; Pigmented ghost cell lesions; Pigmented odontogenic tumors.