Unraveling the Mysteries of Ameloblastoma in African Population: A Comprehensive Analysis of 371 Cases from Clinical, Radiological, and Histopathological Perspectives.

Objective: To analyze the frequency, clinical, histopathological, and radiological characteristics of ameloblastoma in Nigeria over the course of two decades.

Study design: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 371 cases at a Nigerian university hospital between 2000 and 2023. Age, gender, site, histological variants, tumor size and duration were analyzed. Statistical analyses included the Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-square test, and Spearman rank correlation analysis.

Results: The median patient age was 30 years (mean age 32.2), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.12:1. 54.7% of cases occurred in young adults (age range 20-39 years). Among the lesions, 11.3% were in the maxilla and 88.7% in the mandible. Patients with mandibular lesions had a median age of 29 years, while those with maxillary lesions had a statistically significantly higher median age of 37.5 years p-value = 0.001. Median tumor size was 36 cm² for the mandible and 24 cm² for the maxilla (significant p-value of 0.002). There was no correlation between tumor size, age, or gender. However, there was a significant correlation between tumor size and the duration of the condition.

Conclusion: The study concludes that ameloblastoma is more frequent among younger individuals in Nigeria and often presents with larger tumor sizes, emphasizing the need for early detection and intervention.