Odontogenic myxofibroma: a concise review of the literature with emphasis on the surgical approach.

PURPOSE

The aim of this work is to report a review of the literature concerning epidemiology, clinical and radiographic features as well as treatment of odontogenic myxofibroma (MF).

METHODS

The PubMed database was searched using the following keywords: "odontogenic myxofibroma", "odontogenic fibromyxoma", "myxofibroma of the jaw" and "fibromyxoma of the jaw".

RESULTS

Fifteen articles reporting the experience with 24 patients were identified. Male/female ratio was 1:1.4 and the average age 29.5 years. The most frequent location was the mandible. In 66.7% of the cases the radiographic appearance was a multilocular radiolucency. Swelling was observed in 13 patients (92.86%), varying degrees of pain in 5 (35.71%) and paresthesia in only one patient (7.14%). Six out of 24 patients (26.09%) were treated with radical surgery and 17 out of 24 (73.91%) with a conservative approach. In two out of 21 cases (9.52%) a recurrence was reported.

CONCLUSIONS

MF is an extremely rare tumour and no agreement exist on the causes of its development. According to the present review, the choice of treatment should depend on variables such as localization, presence of a primary or of a recurrent lesion, age, general medical conditions and aesthetic needs of the patient.