Ameloblastoma in children and adolescents

This study first reviewed the data of 37 patients aged 18 years and younger with ameloblastoma over a 16-year period and then reviewed the literature on this subject from 1970 to 2009. Of 37 patients with ameloblastoma, 23 were male and 14 were female, a ratio of 1.6:1. The mean age was 14.8 years. All lesions were in the mandible. Clinical typing included 28 solid type and 9 unicystic type. Ten cases were recurrent (27.0%). A series of literature review disclosed 233 well-documented cases of ameloblastoma in children and adolescents. The ages ranged from 4 to 20 years with a mean age of 14.5 years. The distribution among males and females were almost identical: 53.6% (125/233) males and 46.4% (108/233) females (1.16:1). The mandible was affected in 225 (96.6%), the maxilla in 8 (3.4%). Histologically, solid type (63.1%) predominated over unicystic type (36.9%). Of 226, 123 (54.4%) patients were treated with radical resection, 103 (45.6%) underwent conservative method. Owing to a high recurrent rate of ameloblastoma, solid type of tumors should be approached with radical surgical treatment, while conservative measure can be applied selectively to unicystic type. Long-term follow-up is important because recurrence may appear years after tumor removal.