Secondary ameloblastic carcinoma of the jaw: a case report

ABSTRACT

Odontogenic carcinomas are rare tumors mainly classified as malignant ameloblastoma, ameloblastic carcinoma, or primary intraosseous carcinoma. The former two terms have been long used as synonyms in literature. The term ameloblastic carcinoma is used to describe those ameloblastomas in which there is histological evidence of malignancy and overall histological pattern of ameloblastoma. The maxilla is an unusual location for these tumors. Less than 70 cases have been reported in literature. This is a report on a 50 years old female patient with a recurrent ameloblastoma of the right maxillo-mandibular region. The tumor was initially diagnosed as ameloblastoma based on small excisional biopsies. The biopsies concerned a small part of the tumor, probably in the component exhibiting classic ameloblastoma precursor. Complete tumor resection revealed areas of cytological atypia, necrosis and invasion to surrounding bone and soft tissue in a background of ameloblastoma. These features justified the final diagnosis as "secondary ameloblastic carcinoma