Histological characteristics of benign jaw tumours in Cameroon; A 10-year appraisal

Introduction

The diagnosis of jaw tumours is histological. Jaw tumours can be classified as benign or malignant. Benign jaw tumours can be classified as epithelial, mesenchymatous or epithelio-mesenchymatous based on their origin or with respect to their relation to the development of the dental organ into odontogenic and non -odontogenic.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted from the period from January 2010 to April 2020 in the Stomatology and maxillofacial surgery units and pathology units of 4 hospitals in Yaoundé. Participants who had been operated for a benign jaw tumour with available and exploitable histopathological workups were retained in this study. The histological slides found were examined by a team of pathologists in accordance with the 2005 World Health Organization classification of head and neck tumours.

Results

We retained 62 participants, ameloblastoma was the most represented tumour (25.81 %) followed by fibrous dysplasia (12.9 %) and Keratocystic odontogenic tumour (12.9 %). Ameloblastoma had 5 recurrences with a recurrence rate of 31.25 %.

Conclusion

Ameloblastoma was the most common benign jaw tumour and odontogenic tumour with Fibrous dysplasia being the most frequent non odontogenic tumour. Better description of histological characteristics and typing would help to prevent recurrence and complications such as malignant transformation. Digital recording of histopathological slides could help improve conservation and permit the carrying out long term retrospective studies in our settings.