Exploratory Advanced Radiotherapies for Ameloblastoma and Ameloblastic Carcinoma-A Concise Review

Ameloblastoma is an aggressively growing odontogenic tumor with substantial management challenges and a high recurrence rate. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice for ameloblastoma, but adjuvant therapies like radiation have been explored in cases where surgery is not clinically advisable and the tumor is inoperable. This short review assessed ameloblastoma case reports for outcomes of advanced radiation therapy modalities.

PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were queried for outcomes of ameloblastoma treated with helical tomotherapy, gamma knife radiosurgery, proton beam therapy, and carbon ion therapy. Patient outcomes were assessed based on tumor response, radiation side effects, and tumor recurrence.

Seven of nine (78%) cases showed tumor regression or complete response, with no disease progression during follow-up that ranged from 3 months to 5 years. The remaining two had partial regression or stable disease. Treatment side effects were generally mild, with 6 cases reporting grade 1-3 dermatitis, mucositis, or xerostomia. Two cases experienced severe toxicity, including grade 3 mucositis and radiation retinopathy.

Advanced radiation techniques offer a promising alternative or adjuvant therapy for ameloblastoma in cases where surgery is contraindicated. However, more studies are needed to validate these findings.