Calcifying Odontogenic Cyst: Two Histopathological Variants

Abstract

Calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC) is a developmental cyst lined by ameloblastoma-like epithelium, which contains focal accumulations of ghost cells. COC is one of a group of ghost cell lesions of the jaws, along with dentinogenic ghost cell tumor and ghost cell odontogenic carcinoma, accounting for less than 1% of all odontogenic cysts. Based on its behavior and clinicopathological features, COC has been recently reclassified as a developmental cyst that arises from the dental lamina. We report 2 histopathological variants of COC, which occurred in the maxilla of a woman and in the mandible of a man. One lesion presented as the classical histopathological variant, a unicystic lesion with few layers of epithelial cells and focal accumulations of ghost cells. The second lesion presented as a cyst with extensive ameloblastoma-like proliferation areas along with ghost cells accumulations, an ameloblastomatous variant. The clinical and radiographic aspects of the cases are also discussed.