Clinical and histological types of ameloblastoma

Ameloblastoma is one of the most frequent epithelial odontogenic tumors, with great clinical significance, mainly due to its local invasive ability. It is a benign lesion and only rarely demonstrates a malignant biological behavior. This study aims at the analytical description of the various clinical and histological varieties of ameloblastoma, as well as at the review of the recent international literature, regarding the origin, classification, biological behavior and treatment of ameloblastoma. Conventional ameloblastoma, mainly developing in the posterior region of the mandible, is the most frequent clinicopathological type, while the unicystic and peripheral ameloblastomas are less common. Among the histological subtypes of the lesion, the follicular is the most common, while increased aggressive biological behavior is attributed to the desmoplastic type. The malignant varieties of ameloblastoma comprise only 1% of the total cases. Currently, it is supported that the development andprogression of odontogenic tumors is caused by gene -tic and molecular alterations. Thus, further studies are required in order to clarify the pathogenesis of the odontogenic tumors and to develop new treatment modalities, such as targeted molecular treatment, as alternatives or supplementary to the available surgical methods.