The Inflammatory Radicular Cysts Have Higher Concentration of TNF-α in Comparison to Odontogenic Keratocysts (Odontogenic Tumour).

TNF-α is a pleiotropic cytokine that is considered as a primary modifier of inflammatory and immune reaction in response to various inflammatory diseases and tumour. We investigated levels of TNF-α in 43 radicular cysts and 15 odontogenic keratocysts, obtained from patients undergoing surgery, under local anaesthesia, and after aspiration of cystic fluid from non-ruptured cysts. TNF-α is elevated in both cysts' fluid, but higher values were found in radicular cysts in comparison to keratocysts. The significantly higher concentration of TNF-α was associated with smaller radicular cysts, higher protein concentration, higher presence of inflammatory cells in peri cystic tissues, and the degree of vascularisation and cysts wall thickness (Mann-Whitney U-test, p<0.05). No correlation was found based on these parameters in odontogenic keratocyst, but all cysts have detectable concentrations of TNF-α. We here for the first time present that a difference in the concentration of TNF-α exists between these two cystic types.