Clinicopathological analysis of 232 radicular cysts of the jawbone in a population of southern Taiwanese patients

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the clinicopathological features of 232 cases of radicular cyst (January 2001-December 2016) submitted for histopathological examination to Department of Oral Pathology by endodontists in our institution. Demographic data including age, gender, affected site, involved tooth, and histopathological features, were reviewed. The study population comprised 133 females (57.3%) and 99 males (42.7%), with a mean age of 40.5 years and an age range of 13-78 years. Two-hundred and one cysts occurred in the maxilla (86.7%) and 31 in the mandible (13.3%). Most cases involved the anterior teeth of the maxilla (67.2%). The most frequently-involved tooth was the maxillary lateral incisor (50.5%). In most cases (228 cases; 98.3%), the cyst was lined with nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium, with two cases containing epithelial lining of the mucoepidermoid epithelium (0.9%) and respiratory epithelium (0.9%), respectively. One case (0.4%) revealed epithelial dysplasia of the epithelial lining. Hyaline body was seen in two cases (0.9%), and Rushton body was noted in seven cases (3.0%). Odontogenic epithelial rest was noted in one case (0.4%). Cholesterol clefts (54 cases; 23.3%), foamy histiocytes (72 cases; 31.0%), hemosiderins (57 cases; 24.6%), dystrophic calcifications (94 cases; 40.5%), foreign bodies (44 cases; 19.0%), and bacterial colonies (22 cases; 9.5%) were also observed. Fifty-three cases (22.8%) showed a mixed acute and chronic inflammatory infiltrate, whereas chronic inflammatory infiltrate only was noted in 179 cases (77.2%). In summary, the current findings provide a valuable source for clinicopathological reference concerning radicular cysts of the jawbone.