CLEAR-CELL VARIANT OF CALCIFYING EPITHELIAL ODONTOGENIC-TUMOR - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The calcifying epithelial odontogenic tumor (CEOT) is a rare benign od ontogenic neoplasm which was first described by Pindborg in 1955 and a ccounts for less than 1% of all odontogenic lesions. Recently, a clear cell variant of CEOT has been identified with only eight well-documen ted cases in the literature. We present an additional case of clear ce ll CEOT of the mandible and review the salient clinical, radiologic, a nd histopathologic features of this entity and CEOTs in general. The d ifferential diagnosis of clear cell tumors in the mandible includes: c lear cell odontogenic tumor, clear cell ameloblastoma (odontogenic car cinoma), metastatic clear cell adenocarcinoma, primary intraosseous mu coepidermoid carcinoma, acinic cell carcinoma, epithelial-myoepithelia l carcinoma, clear cell salivary gland tumors, and clear cell variant of squamous cell carcinoma. Because of the belief that clear cell odon togenic tumors are locally aggressive neoplasms, definitive resection of the entire mass with tumor-free surgical margins and long-term foll ow-up are recommended.