Contrast-enhanced multidetector computerized tomography for odontogenic cysts and cystic-appearing tumors of the jaws: Is it useful?

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of computerized tomography (CT), particularly contrast-enhanced CT, in differentiation of jaw cysts and cystic-appearing tumors. Study Design: We retrospectively analyzed contrast-enhanced CT images of 90 patients with odontogenic jaw cysts or cystic-appearing tumors. The lesion size and CT values were measured and the short axis to long axis (S/L) ratio, contrast enhancement (CE) ratio, and standard deviation ratio were calculated. Results: The lesion size and the S/L ratio of keratocystic odontogenic tumors were significantly different from those of radicular cysts and follicular cysts. There were no significant differences in the CE ratio among the lesions. Conclusions: Multidetector CT provided diagnostic information about the size of odontogenic cysts and cystic-appearing tumors of the jaws that was related to the lesion type, but showed no relation between CE ratio and the type of these lesions.