Analysis of Histopathologic Subtypes of Unicystic Ameloblastoma in a Nigerian Population

Abstract

Objective: Recent studies recommend that the treatment of unicystic ameloblastoma should be varied depending on the histopathologic subtypes of the lesion. This study therefore aims to determine the prevalence, age, gender, jaw-site and histopathologic subtypes of unicystic ameloblastoma in the South-South Nigerian population.

Methods: A 16-year retrospective review of 1473 diagnosed orofacial lesions, including 192 cases of ameloblastoma, among which the unicystic ameloblastomas were selected and their clinicopathological features were analyzed in the Department of Oral Pathology and Medicine, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City.

Results: There were 81(5.5%) cases of unicystic ameloblastomas, among the diagnosed orofacial lesions, accounting for 42.2% of ameloblastomas in this Centre. The patients' mean age was 31 + 1.5 years, with the ndrd2and 3decades of life as the peak age group (n=46, 56.8%) and a male to female ratio of 1.5:1. The mean duration on presentation was 34.6 months + 6.7 S.E and anterior mandible (n=40, 49.4%) was the predominant site of the lesion. The mural unicystic ameloblastoma (n=61, 75.3%) was the most common histopathologic subtype of the lesion, followed by the luminal (n=13, 16.0%) and the intraluminal (n=7, 8.6%) subtypes.  Conclusion: This study observed a higher prevalence of unicystic ameloblastoma compared to previous reports. The lesions were found mostly in young males with predilection for the anterior mandible. The mural unicystic ameloblastoma was the predominant subtype in this population, which may require local surgical resection because of the higher risk of recurrence.

Keywords: Unicystic-ameloblastoma, clinical features, Histopathologic-subtype