Abstract
This study describes the oral and maxillofacial pathological characteristics of a series of odontogenic tumours in children and adolescents from three Brazilian reference centres. The records were reviewed for all odontogenic tumours in patients up to 18 years old based on criteria proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005. Data concerning sex, age, skin colour and tumour location were collected and plotted. Four hundred and thirty one odontogenic tumours in children and adolescents were found, accounting for 37.5% of the total number of odontogenic tumours diagnosed. Benign tumours were predominant (99.8% of the cases), and odontoma was the most frequent type (41.4%), followed by keratocystic odontogenic tumours (25.5%) and ameloblastoma (14.6%). Odontogenic tumours were rarely detected in early childhood, and their prevalence increased with age. An almost equal distribution was observed with respect to sex and the site of the lesions. This study is the largest reported retrospective analysis describing odontogenic tumours in children and adolescents to date. The authors detected some variation in the relative frequency of odontogenic tumours compared with similar reports. Additional studies should be conducted based on the new WHO classification and predetermined age parameters to enable comparative analysis among different worldwide populations.
Head and neck tumours rarely affect young people, but odontogenic tumours (OT) in children and adolescents (OTCA) are relatively frequent. OT usually appear clinically as nonspecific painless swellings so appropriate diagnosis requires radiographic and histopathological analysis. Data regarding OTCA are limited in the international literature.
The reported frequency of OT worldwide is variable and partially dependent on the types of lesions included in the published series. Ameloblastoma (AME) is the main OT detected in African studies, and odontoma (ODO) is the most frequent lesion found in all non-African reports. Little is known about the frequency of OTCA in South American populations.
The aim of this study was to describe the relative frequency and the main demographic and clinical data related to OTCA diagnosed at three reference centres for oral pathology in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The international literature on this topic was also reviewed, discussed and compared with the data obtained.
Materials and methods
A retrospective descriptive study was developed based on the records from three oral pathology laboratories located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, encompassing the period 1954–2010. The study evaluated a cohort of patients up to 18 years old, according to the criteria proposed by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child. Data concerning each patient’s age at the time of diagnosis, skin colour, gender and the anatomic location of the lesion were retrieved from medical and dental files, histopathological exam requests, and the available radiographic examinations. Slides for each case, stained with haematoxylin and eosin, were reviewed by four investigators (AML, MCFA, MCRH, SVC) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.
For the analysis, the cases were divided into three groups according to age as follows: early childhood (0–6 years), middle childhood (7–12 years), and adolescence (13–18 years). Regarding site distribution, the maxilla (Mx) and mandible (Md) were divided into three anatomic regions: anterior, premolar and posterior, and mandibular tumours of the angle and the ramus were recorded. For more extensive tumours, location was determined based on its growth epicentre. This study was performed according to the ethical principles and guidelines for research involving human subjects, and it was registered with the institutional Ethics Committee (Protocol 305/07).
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