Objective: Differential diagnosis of cementifying fibroma, ossifying fibroma and fibrous dysplasia by histological evaluation is often difficult. The aim of this study was to examine the immunoreactivities for keratan sulfate (KS) and chondroitin-4-sulfate (C4S) glycosaminoglycans of the histological samples obtained from mandibles of patients with these diseases.
Materials and methods: The samples were collected from three patients with cementifying fibroma, two with ossifying fibroma and three with fibrous dysplasia and were subjected to immunohistochemical analyses.
Results: The results demonstrated that a significant immunoreactivity for KS was found in lacunae housing cells in the cementum-particles of cementifying fibromas, while both ossifying fibromas and fibrous dysplasias showed no significant immunoreactivity for KS. For C4S, while the former showed little immunoreactivity, the latter two cases exhibited intensive immunostaining in the pre- and poorly mineralized matrices.
Conclusions: These results suggest that cementifying fibromas could be distinguished from these fibro-osseous tumors by using immunohistochemical analysis for KS and C4S.