A rare tumour: peripheral odontogenic fibroma

Objectives: World Health Organisation (WHO) describes odontogenic fibroma (OF) as a rare benign neoplasm of odontogenic ectomesenchymal origin.
Peripheral odontogenic fibroma (POdf) represents the soft tissue counterpart of central odontogenic fibroma. Clinically the tumour presents as a slow-growing, firm, pedunculated or sessile, red or pink gingival mass covered by normal appearing mucosa. In some cases the overlying mucosa may be ulcerated.Our objective is to describe the clinicopathological features of 22 Peripheral odontogenic fibromas (POdfs) and compare our findings with those published in the literature.
Methods: A total of 22 cases diagnosed as POdF over a period of ten years (2004-2014) were retrieved from the archives of the Department of Oral Pathology, Wits School of Oral Health sciences. Detailed clinical and histological information was recorded for each patient.Case selection of POdf, was guided by clinical and histological criteria prescribed by the 2005 WHO classification of odontogenic tumours.
Results: The age range of patients presenting with POdf in our case series was 15 to 67 years with a mean of 38.4. (SD 13.5) years. The highest incidence of the lesion was in the third decade of life. POdfs were more common in females (77.27%) than males (22.73%).The site of involvement was unspecified in two cases. Of the remaining 20 cases 63.54% presented in the mandible and 36.37% in the maxilla. The lesions varied in size from 5 to 28 mm in greatest diameter. The POdfs were predominantly (54.55%) epithelial poor.
Conclusions: POdf is a rare odontogenic tumour, with a peak incidence in the third decade of life. The most common site of involvement is the mandible middle/premolar region. Epithelial poor POdfs were common in our case series.