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

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.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.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.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.