Significance and usefulness of imaging characteristics of gubernaculum tracts for the diagnosis of odontogenic tumors or cysts.

Masafumi Oda,Ikuya Miyamoto,Shun Nishimura,Tatsurou Tanaka,Shinya Kokuryo,Yuichi Miyamura,Katsura Saeki,Ikuko Nishida,Kenshi Maki,Manabu Habu,Kenji Osawa,Noriaki Yamamoto,Shinji Kito,Masaaki Kodama,Kazuhiro Tominaga,Naomi Yada,Takaaki Joujima,Izumi Yoshioka,Nao Wakasugi-Sato,Daigo Yoshiga,Yasuhiro Morimoto,Shinobu Matsumoto-Takeda,Keitaro Matsuo

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0199285

Masafumi Oda, Ikuya Miyamoto + Show 21 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199285

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Jul 6, 2018
Citations: 18	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Kyushu Dental University, Oita University

Abstract

We aimed to determine the significance and usefulness of imaging characteristics of gubernaculum tracts (GT) for the diagnosis of odontogenic tumors or cysts. This was a retrospective analysis of relationships between odontogenic or non-odontogenic tumors or cysts and the GT that were visualized using multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT). The relationship between the size of a mass and expansion of the GT in all odontogenic tumors or cysts to which GTs were contiguous on MDCT, was statistically analyzed. Intact or expanded GTs were detected in MDCT images on the top of almost all odontogenic tumors or cysts, but not on non-odontogenic tumors or cysts. Characteristic image findings regarding the relationship between the GT and the odontogenic mass were detected for the respective odontogenic tumors or cysts in which the GTs were contiguous to the mass on MDCT. In ameloblastomas, expansion of the GTs significantly and very strongly correlated with tumor size (r = 0.741, p = 0.0001), but this correlation was very weak in dentigerous cysts (r = 0.167, p = 0.028) and there was no correlation between these parameters in odontogenic keratocysts (r = -0.089, p = 0.557). The imaging characteristics of GTs at the top of masses should be very useful for both the differential diagnosis of the pathological diagnosis of odontogenic masses and for differentiation between odontogenic and non-odontogenic masses.

Highlights

We precisely visualized the pathway of the gubernaculum tract (GT) using conebeam computed tomography and multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) [1, 2]
Pathological or imaging investigations have provided strong evidence to suggest that the gubernacular cord (GC) may be the origin of adenomatoid odontogenic tumors (AOT), and that the GT might be associated with the development of odontomas [2, 5, 6]
A clear anatomic association has been shown between the GT and AOTs on CT [5], and we suggested that the GT might be associated with the origin of odontomas

Summary

Introduction

We precisely visualized the pathway of the gubernaculum tract (GT) using conebeam computed tomography and multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) [1, 2]. Significance of gubernaculum tracts in diagnosis fibrous GT band connects the pericoronal follicular tissue of a successional tooth with the overlying gingiva and constitutes a pathway from the dental follicle to the gingiva for eruption of permanent teeth [3]. The GT is a canal that contains the gubernacular cord (GC). The remnants of this cord could be the basis of the development of some odontogenic tumors and/or cysts. Pathological or imaging investigations have provided strong evidence to suggest that the GC may be the origin of adenomatoid odontogenic tumors (AOT), and that the GT might be associated with the development of odontomas [2, 5, 6]

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