THE ADENOMATOID ODONTOGENIC-TUMOR - AN ANALYSIS OF 57 CASES IN A BLACK-AFRICAN POPULATION

Purpose: This study analyzed the findings in a large series of adenoma toid odontogenic tumors (AOT) in Nigerians. Patients and Methods: Hosp ital records of all cases of AOT diagnosed at three teaching hospitals were reviewed and analyzed. Results: Most of the tumors were intraoss eous (central) (98.3%) and of the follicular type (75%), Females were more frequently affected than males (1.4:1), and patients in their sec ond decade of life were most frequently affected (75%), Patients with follicular AOT were relatively younger (15.2 +/- 5.6 years) than those with extrafollicular tumors (20.9 +/- 13.8 years), However, males who presented with extrafollicular tumors (14.6 +/- 3.9 years) were relat ively younger than their female counterparts (24.9 +/- 16 years), The maxilla was affected nearly twice as often as the mandible (1.8:1), an d the canine tooth was frequently embedded in the tumor (76.9%), Altho ugh follicular tumors were most frequently located in the maxilla (76. 3%), extrafollicular tumors were more commonly found in the mandible ( 69.2%). Conclusion: The distribution of this tumor in black Africans d oes not appear to be substantially different from that reported in cau casians.