The new WHO classification of jaw tumours

Abstract

Maxillofacial tumours cover abroad spectrum of lesions, including neoplasms, hamartomatous changes and developmental disorders. Since the beginning of 2022, abeta version of the 5th edition of the WHO classification for head and neck tumours has been available online, and aprint version is expected to be published in mid-2023. From aconceptual point of view, little has been changed compared to the 4th edition; the sort order of lesions is more rigorously arranged according to benign and malignant behaviour and identical tumour types are no longer described redundantly in different chapters depending on their location. The diagnostic criteria are now summarized as "essential" and "desirable", and in addition to the clinical features, imaging is now also incorporated, providing an interdisciplinary approach to the classification. Afew new entities are included for the first time. This article gives an overview of the main changes introduced in the new WHO classification with aspecial emphasis on fibro-osseous lesions of the craniofacial skeleton.