The diagnosis and treatment of dentinogenic ghost cell tumor

The purpose of this study is to assess the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of the dentinogenic ghost cell tumor (DGCT). This is a retrospective study of patients with DGCT who underwent one or multiple surgical interventions during the 10-year period from 1997 to 2007. Seven patients with DGCT were identified under the WHO 2005 classification guidelines. The lesions were located in the maxilla in 4 patients and in the mandible in 3 patients. Five patients experienced recurrences following conservative surgery. They were all treated with aggressive local resection. Two patients had no conservative surgery but aggressive local resection. After 7–105 months’ follow-up, no recurrences were found in any of the patients. Intraosseous DGCT should be treated by resection with an adequate safety margin, of at least 0.5 cm, as recommended for ameloblastoma. Patients with a DGCT should remain in long-term follow-up.