Journal of Dental Medicine

Statement of Problem: Giant cell granuloma (G.C.G) is a reactive lesion which affects the jaws and oral mucosa of gingiva.This lesion is classified to central and peripheral ones. The histopathologic aspects of central and peripheral G.C.G is the same. The central lesions are aggressive and cause osseous destruction. The peripheral G.C.G produces ulcerative swellings similar to pyogenic granuloma or peripheral ossifying fibroma. Since the peripheral and central G.C.G are common lesions, the awareness of dentists of different aspect of G.C.G is very important.

Purpose: The aim of this study was a statistical evaluation of variables such as age, gender and location of peripheral and central G.C.G in oral and maxillofacial pathology department of Dental Faculty of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, case series one. The medical records of oral and maxillofacial pathology department of Dental Faculty of Tehran University of Medical Sciences was assessed in two steps: In the first stage, the medical records of patients with pathologic report of peripheral and central G.C.G were selected and reviewed. In the next step, the informations such as age, gender and location of peripheral and central G.C.G were registered in data forms. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software.

Results: The results showed that the age range in peripheral and central G.C.G were 2- 90 and 4-70 years, respectively. The peak incidence of peripheral and central G.C.G was in the third and second decades, respectively. The peripheral G.C.G was more common in men (52.70%) than women (47.30%). This finding in central G.C.G was 37.19% for men and 62.88% for women. 57.06% of peripheral G.C.G cases were in mandible and 42.94% in maxilla. The occurrence of central G.C.G was 67.07% in mandible and 32.93 % in maxilla.

Conclusion: Based on this study, the peripheral lesions were more frequent in men, third decade and mandible and the central lesions in women, second decade and mandible.

Statement of Problem: Odontogenic keratocyst is a developmental odontogenic cyst which arises from dental lamina. One of the important features of odontogenic keratocyst is strong tendency to recurrence.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was the statistical evaluation of age and gender of patient as well as area of involvement in odontogenic keratocysts in the oral and maxillofacial pathology department of dental faculty of Tehran University of Medical Sciences from 1971-2002. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross sectional, descriptive one. Medical records were reviewed and variables such as age, gender and site of involvement were recorded. The data were analyzed with SPSS software.

Results: The relative frequency of odontogenic keratocyst was 36%. 66% of cysts were in men and 34% in women. 68% of lesions affected the lower jaw and 32% the upper jaw. Regarding the site of involvement, 48% of lesions involved the molar region of mandible and 42%, the anterior part of maxilla. The occurrence of keratocysts was higher in this sites. Most of the cases were diagnosed in the third decade.

Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, odontogenic keratocyst was more prevalent in men, mandible and the third decade. The posterior part of mandible and anterior region of maxilla were involved most frequently.

Background and Aim: Microscopic differentiation between well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and verrucous carcinoma is very difficult. As these lesions have different clinical course and treatment a reliable method to help distinguish between them is necessary. The basement membrane in oral verrucous carcinoma is generally intact whereas in oral squamous cell carcinoma is mostly discontinuous. This structure can be studied by different methods. The aim of this study was to differentiate these lesions with special staining of basement membrane.

Materials and Methods: In this tests evaluation study, a total of 26 cases consisting of 15 oral squamous cell carcinomas and 11 oral verrucous carcinomas were retrieved from Cancer Institute of Imam Khomeini hospital archive of pathology and their paraffin blocks were cut and stained with Periodic Acid Schiff method. Slides were studied with light microscope to evaluate the continuity of basement membrane. Sensitivity and specificity of this method were calculated.

Results: The sensitivity of this method for differentiating oral squamous cell carcinoma from oral verrucous carcinoma was 100% whereas the specificity was 90.9%. Positive predictive value was 93.75% and negative predictive value 100%.

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the sensitivity of this test for diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma was high (100%). Further studies are needed to evaluate the use this method for distinguishing oral verrucous carcinoma from oral squamous cell carcinoma.