An insight into the cannibalistic behavior of giant cell granulomas of the jaws

Cellular cannibalism is defined as a large cell engulfing a smaller one within its cytoplasm. It is predominantly a feature of aggressive malignancies but has recently been demonstrated in giant cell (GC) lesions such as GC tumor of tendon sheath, central GC granuloma (CGCG) and peripheral GC granuloma (PGCG).

The aim of the study is to assess the cannibalistic GCs in CGCG and PGCG and correlate with aggressiveness of the lesion.

Archival data of histopathologically confirmed cases of CGCG (n = 40) and PGCG (n = 25) were studied in the Department of Oral Pathology, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences.

Quantification of cannibalistic cells was performed using H&E stain on microscopic sections. One hundred GCs were examined in each slide, and the number of cannibalistic cells was expressed in percentage.

GC cannibalism was observed in all cases. The mean number of cannibalistic GCs in CGCG was 44.67 which was significantly higher (P = 0.028) than PGCG (mean 28.04). In aggressive (n = 18) CGCG, the mean number of cannibalistic GCs was 51.27 which was significantly higher (P = 0.019) than cannibalistic GCs in nonaggressive (n = 22) CGCG (mean 39.27). No significant difference was observed between the number of cannibalistic cells in recurrent (mean = 52.9) and nonrecurrent (mean = 49.2) cases of CGCG (P > 0.05). Two of the nine cases treated initially by steroid showed fewer and smaller cannibalistic GCs with vesicular nuclei.

There was a clear distinction in the mean cannibalistic count between aggressive and nonaggressive CGCG. Hence, the aggressiveness of the lesion could be assessed following which appropriate treatment modality can be constituted.