Gnathic bone osteoblastoma: report of a case and review of literature.

Osteoblastoma is a benign rare primary bone tumor. It accounts for less than 1% of all bony neoplasms. As a matter of facts and as far as the maxillo-mandibular onset is concerned, no one of the authors we have consulted report more than 58 cases in literature. Even though rare, local relapses can occur, mainly as a consequence of a more conservative resection and even more rarely it can undergo to malignant transformation. This work describes a case of a young male patient affected by gnathic bone osteoblastoma recently fallen under our observation at Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Policlinico Umberto I° of Rome. Diagnosis, treatment management and histopathological findings are described, together with literature review. Rareness as well as non-pathognomonic symptoms and signs, atypical radiographic appearance and above all the overlapping of this neoplasia histopathologic characteristics with those of other most frequently observed lesions such as ossifying fibroma, cementoma, adamantinoma, osteoid osteoma and osteosarcoma offer a unique differential diagnostic challenge. The authors recommend that a careful correlation of histopathological features with clinical presentation and radiographic appearance have to be established to arrive at an accurate diagnosis and to perform the adequate treatment.