JAPANESE JOURNAL OF ORAL & MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

Vol. 53 No. 9       2007

ISSN: 0021-5163      UBIC: 151-J

ABSTRACT

Ameloblastic carcinoma rarely arises in the oral cavity and is classified into primary type and secondary type. No report, however, has proposed the malignant transformation of a benign tumor into an ameloblastic carcinoma. We report the case of a secondary ameloblastic carcinoma that showed pathological evidence of transformation from a benign to a malignant tumor in the right mandible of a 73-year-old man. The patient was referred to a dental clinic because of swelling of the right side of the mandible. Biopsy yielded a diagnosis of ameloblastoma, plexiform type. A partial resection of the right side of the mandible was performed under general anesthesia in April 2003. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was ameloblastic carcinoma. The patient was given a definitive diagnosis of secondary ameloblastic carcinoma, because evidence of malignant transformation was observed. No recurrence and no metastasis have occurred for 3 years. Key words: ameloblastoma, ameloblastic carcinoma, malignant transformation.

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