title: The implications of inflammation in odontogenic keratocysts.
abstract: The histologic features of 112 odontogenic keratocysts (OKC's) were examined from both a clinical and histopathological perspective with emphasis on the microscopic presence of inflammation and its relationship to transformation of the classic epithelial cyst lining found in OKC's to a nonkeratinized lining characteristic of common inflammatory odontogenic cysts. Eighty-five (76%) of these cases exhibited inflammation. The sensitivity of inflammation as a predictor of this aforementioned transformation is 100%, and its positive predictive value is 88%. The specificity of the same parameters remains high at 73%. Using previous studies, the implications of these findings on the biologic behavior of OKC's is discussed with special reference to therapeutic considerations.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D007571:Jaw Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009807:Odontogenic Cysts / Q000473:pathology*