Ameloblastoma medical therapy
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Ameloblastoma Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Ameloblastoma medical therapy On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Ameloblastoma medical therapy |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Ameloblastoma medical therapy |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Simrat Sarai, M.D. [2]
Overview
The mainstay of therapy for ameloblastoma is surgery. The predominant therapy for ameloblastoma is surgical resection. Adjunctive chemotherapy/radiation/chemoradiation may be required.
Medical Therapy
The treatment of Ameloblastoma is undertaken based on the type of tumor. These may involve: Surgery is the most common treatment of this tumor. Excision of normal tissue near the tumor margin is often required, because of the invasive nature of the growth. Ameloblastoma has tendency to spread to adjacent bony and sometimes soft tissues without metastasizing. Although ameloblastoma is not a cancer that actually invades adjacent tissues, it is suspected to spread to adjacent areas of the jaw bone via marrow space. Thus, wide surgical margins that are clear of disease are required for a good prognosis. This is very much like surgical treatment of cancer. Often, treatment requires excision of entire portions of the jaw. Surgery is the only effective method for removing the excess tissue growth. A wide surgical excision is often required; in majority of cases, a part of the bone beneath the growth must be removed as well. Surgical curettage of the bone tumor is another treatment modality- although, there is a higher chance of recurrence with this treatment method. Since, surgery is a highly effective method to treat ameloblastoma, in most situations, chemotherapy and radiation treatment is not preferred. Facial reconstructive surgeries may be required, after removal of the tumor. Radiation is ineffective in many cases of ameloblastoma. There have also been reports of sarcoma being induced as the result of using radiation to treat ameloblastoma. Chemotherapy is also often ineffective. However, there is some controversy regarding this and some indication that some ameloblastomas might be more responsive to radiation that previously thought.