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Carcinoma arising in a dentigerous cyst: A case report and review of the literature

1991; Elsevier BV; Volume: 49; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0278-2391(91)90347-o

1531-5053

Walter G. Maxymiw, Robert E. Wood,

Bone Tumor Diagnosis and Treatments

The dentigerous cyst is associated with the crown of a permanent tooth. The most common sites are the mandibular third molar and maxillary canine areas.1 A prominent radiographic feature of dentigerous cysts is a radiolucent area associated in some manner with an unerupted tooth. The tooth crown may be surrounded symmetrically by this radiolucency or the lucency may appear to project laterally from the tooth crown.2 There are no characteristic microscopic features that reliably distinguish dentigerous cysts. They are composed of a connective tissue wall with a thin layer of stratified squamous epithelium lining the lumen. Rete peg formation is generally absent except in secondarily infected cases. Inflammatory cell infiltration of the connective tissue is common.3 Squamous cell carcinoma arising in an odontogenic cyst is rare. The purpose of this article is to report a histologically proven case of carcinoma arising in a dentigerous cyst, to detail its treatment, and to analyze the literature to determine how many cases of carcinoma arising in cysts fulfill criteria of histological proof of transition from normal cyst lining to carcinoma.4