Retrospective clinical study of multiple keratocystic odontogenic tumors in non-syndromic patients

OBJECTIVES: A keratocystic odontogenic tumor (KOT) is a type of odontogenic tumor that mainly occurs in the posterior mandible. Most KOTs appear as solitary lesions; however, they sometimes occur as multiple cysts. This study analyzed the clinical features of multiple KOTs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants were diagnosed with KOT by biopsy with multiple surgical sites, and were patients at the Pusan National University Hospital and the Pusan National University Dental Hospital from January 1, 2005 to March 31, 2016. Charts, records, images and other findings were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 31 operations were conducted in 17 patients. The mean patient age was 28.4±20.1 years. Multiple KOTs were found to occur at a young age (P<0.01). The predominant sites were in the posterior mandible (28.6%). Most cases of multiple lesions appeared in both the upper and lower jaw, and 40.3% of lesions were associated with unerupted and impacted teeth. The overall recurrence rate measured by operation site was 10.4% (8/77 sites). No patients were associated with nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome. CONCLUSION: The pure recurrence rate was lower than estimated, but there was a higher possibility of secondary lesions regardless of the previous operation site; therefore, long-term follow-up is necessary.