Gigantiform cementoma is a rare,
autosomal
An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. The members of an autosome pair in a diploid cell have the same morphology, unlike those in allosome, allosomal (sex chromosome) pairs, which may have different structures. The DNA in au ...
dental tumor
A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
.
It is benign, but without intervention it can result in severe disfigurement of the jaw. The cause of this tumor is currently unknown. This is an exceedingly rare tumor with only a handful of documented cases worldwide. The most famous case is of
Novemthree Siahaan (who died on September 15, 2005), a young
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n boy from
Batam Island
Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as several small islands. Batam Island is the cor ...
who received medical care in Haulien, Taiwan through a Buddhist missionary from the
Tzu Chi Foundation
Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation, known for short as the Tzu Chi Foundation ( zh, t=佛教慈濟慈善事業基金會, p=Fójiào Cí Jì Císhàn Shìyè Jījīn Huì, l=Buddhist Compassionate Relief Charity Foundation), is a Taiwanese in ...
, which was documented on the
Discovery Health Channel
Discovery Health Channel was an American subscription television channel. Launched in July 1998, it was owned by Discovery Communications as a spin-off of Discovery Channel, focusing on health and wellness-oriented programming.
In the beginning ...
. Another famous case is a young
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n girl named Ayun Lee (August 26, 2003~) and her father
Young-hak Lee whose case has shown that the tumor can be heritable. She is currently under treatment, which she may need to continue until her growth stops in her early 20s.
The term has been used in the past to describe
florid cemento-osseous dysplasia, but it is now reserved for an autosomal dominant condition affecting the
maxillae
The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...
. It affects mostly Caucasian people under the age of 10. Treatment is difficult. Surgical removal of the affected bone is needed, and has to be followed by reconstruction.
References
External links
{{dentistry-stub
Rare cancers