Locally Aggressive Benign Odontogenic Neoplasms – A Review

Odontogenic neoplasms encompass a group of lesions with a varied clinical picture and biological behavior ranging from indolent hamartomatous proliferation to locally aggressive benign tumors and their very aggressive malignant counterparts. The benign neoplasms are normally slow growing, indolent with no invasive potential. However, there exists a few locally aggressive benign odontogenic tumors that have a tendency to invade and deform the surrounding structures. The exact reason for the aggressiveness of these benign neoplasms remained an enigma until recently but with the ongoing research and the tremendous progress in the molecular biology of tumors, great strides have now been made in our understanding of their molecular pathogenesis. Their biology and clinical expression can often be destructive and ominous. An appropriate treatment protocol needs to be followed to combat the high recurrence rate and aggressiveness of these entities. This review aims to give an understanding of the locally aggressive benign odontogenic neoplasms, their biologic behaviour and the therapy strategies employed to treat them.