Radiological features of rare non-odontogenic lesions of the jaws.

Background: The jaws can be affected by several lesions that manifest in the oral cavity, but little is known about non-odontogenic benign and malignant lesions and their radiological findings.

Introduction: Our aim was to discuss the imaging findings of non-odontogenic jaw lesions to help the surgeon in the diagnosis and formulating a differential diagnosis for this vast spectrum of jaw lesions with overlapping clinical and imaging appearances.

Methods: CT and MR images of the mandible, maxillofacial region, and neck were retrieved from the archive of the Radiology Department of Pamukkale University for the duration between 2012-2023 and assessed.

Results: A total of 8125 CT and MR images were retrospectively analyzed. The mean age of the patients was 39.5 years in females and 43.2 in males, with a range varying from 15 to 72 years. Histopathologically approved benign and malignant non-odontogenic lesions were detected in only 19 patients out of 8125 images (0.23%). Osteomyelitis and abscess were the most common (n=3; 0.03%), followed by two cases (n=2; 0.02%) of each fibrous dysplasia, hemangioma, osteosarcoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and multiple myeloma, and one case (n=1; 0.01%) of each ossifying fibroma, osteoma, lymphoma, metastasis, and solitary bone cyst.

Conclusion: Although non-odontogenic benign and malignant lesions of the jaw are rare, awareness of the radiological features of these lesions plays an important role in their diagnosis and management.