Treatment of Multiple Odontogenic Keratocysts Involving Chinese Patients

Abstract

Purpose: The optimal treatment of odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs) remains a matter of debate in reported studies. The present study aimed to estimate the postoperative recurrence rates of multiple OKCs (MOKCs) in Chinese patients.

Materials and methods: A retrospective cohort study of histologically confirmed MOKCs treated from 2003 to 2017 using enucleation, marsupialization alone, enucleation and peripheral ostectomy, or marsupialization followed by secondary enucleation was performed. Patients with MOKCs who had undergone follow-up for 12 or more months with panoramic radiographs and radiographs of the chest and skull available from the first visit and had been treated by the same team using the same treatment protocol were included in the study. Patients were excluded if the lesion had been treated previously, they had a solitary OKC, or their medical records were not available for review. The treatment methods, recurrence rate, and interval to recurrence were evaluated. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the survival rate and median time to recurrence. Univariate analysis was used to identify the risk factors associated with recurrence. Significant differences were determined at an α level of 5%.

Results: The sample included 81 patients with MOKCs; 21 (25.6%) were male and 60 (74.07%) were female. The age range was 7 to 63 years (mean ± standard deviation, 18.4 ± 4). The overall recurrence rate was 26.63%, with an overall recurrence-free interval of 26.85 months. The average length of follow-up was 55.68 months. No association was found between the treatment method used and the risk of recurrence (P = .178). Although the interval to recurrence was not affected by any of the study variables, the average interval to the recurrence of MOKCs involving the maxilla was short compared with that of MOKCs involving the mandible.

Conclusions: The surgical treatment method did not influence the risk of recurrence in patients with MOKCs, and the interval to recurrence was not associated with any of the study variables.