Cell block technique as a complementary method in the clinical diagnosis of cyst-like lesions of the jaw

Objective

To evaluate the applicability of the cell block technique as a complementarymethod for presumptive diagnosis in the analysis of cyst-like aspirates from jawlesions prior to histopathological diagnosis.

Material and Methods

The sample was made up of 17 cyst-like jaw lesions. After puncture, the aspirateswere centrifuged, fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin and processed. Alllesions were biopsied and submitted to histopathological examination.

Results

In 9 cases, the cytopathological analysis using the cell block method showed apredominant presence of erythrocytes, inflammatory cells and few epithelial cells.In the other 8 cases, the cell block technique demonstrated the presence ofparakeratin, whose histopathological analysis confirmed the occurrence ofkeratocystic odontogenic tumors (KOTs).

Conclusions

According to the studied cases, the cell block method was proven to be a simple,fast and low-cost technique to effectively differentiate KOTs from other lesionswith similar clinical and radiographic features. The cell block techniquecomprises cellular preparations useful to determine a clinical diagnosis and helpto develop a therapeutic plan for those lesions.