Calcifying odontogenic cyst: a clinicopathologic study of 57 cases with immunohistochemical evaluation for cytokeratin.

PURPOSE

A clinicopathologic study of all cases accessioned as calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC) from 1971 to 1996 from the files of the Oral Pathology Laboratory at Temple University School of Medicine was undertaken.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Microscopic slides and clinical histories of cases diagnosed as calcifying odontogenic cyst were reviewed and analyzed. Ten cases were processed for cytokeratin immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTS

Fifty-seven cases were reviewed, 28 males and 29 females. Patients' ages ranged from 7 to 83 years, with a mean age of 49.8 years. Thirty-four cases involved the mandible and 23 were from the maxilla. Seventeen were reported in peripheral locations, and 38 occurred centrally within the jaws. Two were found both centrally and peripherally. The most common clinical sign for central lesions was a radiolucency sometimes associated with a jaw expansion. The most common clinical complaint for peripheral lesions was a nodular growth on the gingiva. Although lining epithelial cells were strongly positive for cytokeratin, full-brown ghost cells and disintegrating ghost cells were nonreactive.

CONCLUSION

Calcifying odontogenic cyst can occur in any age-group, intraosseously or extraosseously, and as a solid lesion. No recurrences were found after surgical removal in the current series.