Odontogenic Keratocysts in a Malaysian Population: Clinical, Radiological and Histological Considerations

This paper represents a study of 35 cases of odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) diagnosed in a Malaysian population. The clinical, radiological and histopathological features, treatment modalities and recurrence of this lesion were analysed. There was a higher prevalence rate among Malaysian Chinese (51.42 percent), while the Malays and Indians accounted for 22.86 percent and 25.72 percent respectively. The male to female ratio was 16 : 19. Age at presentation ranged from nine to 71 year, with about 70percent occurring between ages ten to 39 years. A total of 40 cysts were analysed. Of these, 67.5 percent occurred in the mandible and 32.5 percent in the maxilla. About 88 percent of OKC presented as unilocular radiolucencies and 42.0 percent were associated with unerupted or impacted teeth. Histologically, the parakeratinized OKC was the predominant variant found (75.8 percent). The majority of cases were treated by enucleation (85 percent), and a recurrence rate of 20 percent was recorded.