Atypical ameloblastoma – an enigma in diagnosis: review of literature and report of a case

Ameloblastoma, a benign neoplasm of jaw bones is the most common of all odontogenic tumors. Its pathology is generally well understood and is easy to diagnose. This article presents a rare case of an ameloblastoma with atypical features depicting an example of the diagnostic difficulty posed by some ameloblastomas and briefly reviews the classification and literature of odontogenic malignancies. This case is unusual in the fact that although the clinical presentation was suggestive of a malignancy, the histological features were not sufficient to warrant the lesion as malignant. Albeit, the features of epithelial dedifferentiation were evident at post operative histopathological evaluation but no proof was available to authenticate frank metastasis or carcinoma. The case was diagnosed as an atypical ameloblastoma and frequent follow up was recommended. This article discusses about ameloblastic carcinoma, other odontogenic malignancies and emphasizes the need for standardization and quantification of the fundamental concepts of odontogenic malignancies for more reliable and early diagnosis for better treatment and prognosis.