Osteoblastoma in the retromolar region - Report of an unusual case and Review of literature

Abstract

Background Benign osteoblastoma is a rare tumor of bone representing less than 1% of all tumors of the maxillofacial region. There is a slight predilection for the mandible. More frequent sites for this tumor are the vertebral column, sacrum, long bones, and calvarium. A small predilection in males exists. The age of occurrence ranges from 5 to 37 years, with an average of 16.5. Clinically, patients have pain and swelling. The tumor contains a wellvascularized, osteoblastic connective tissue stroma. Osteoclasts may also be present. Osteoid with varying degrees of calcification, as well as immature bone, is noted. Case report Very few cases of osteoblastomas occurring in the jaws have been reported in the literature. This is one such a rare case report of OB occurring in a 45 year old female patient with a swelling in right lower back region since 5 years. Summary and conclusion Osteoblastoma has to be differentiated from other bone lesions for correct diagnosis. Many bone producing lesions possess some overlapping clinical, radiographic or histopathological findings similar to osteoblastoma. Understanding and correlating all these features is of utmost importance. This helps in correctly diagnosing and helps in adequate management of this rare entity, giving a good prognosis.

Aggressive Multilocular Osteoblastoma in the Mandible: A Rare and Difficult Case to Diagnose

“…Generally, this lesion affects patients in the first three decades of life, with a male/female sex ratio of 2:1, (3,4). It occurs more frequently in the spinal column (2,3,(5)(6)(7) and long bones (4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Other less common sites are the bones of the skull cap, extremities and face (3).…”

“…In the following year, Harrington et al (5) reported a case of aggressive osteoblastoma in the maxilla, and more recently, reports of a clinical case of osteoblastoma in the maxilla (10) and another in the mandible were published (11). In 2013, three more cases of osteoblastoma in the jaws were reported, two of which occurred in the jaw (6,12) and one involved the maxilla (7). Therefore, to date, a total of 98 cases of osteoblastoma in the jaws have been reported.…”

Agressive osteoblastoma in a seven-year-old girl’s mandible: Treatment and six-year monitoring

“…They consist of a mineralized matrix (osteoid tissue islands with varying degrees of calcification) with numerous hyperchromatic osteoblasts and occasionally giant cells similar to osteoclasts in a highly vascularized fibrous stroma [12] . By virtue of being histologically similar, the diagnosis between osteoblastoma and osteoid osteoma is based on the diameter of the lesion, since the latter has a limited potential for growth (15–20 mm) when compared to the first [13] .…”

Osteoblastoma in the retromolar region: a case report

“…Involvement of the jaw bones is rare and, if present, most commonly occurs in the mandible [3][4]7 .…”