Researchers from Finland have discovered a gene mutation in ameloblastoma, an odontogenic tumor with a high tendency to recur after treatment, as reported in the Journal of Pathology (April 2014, Vol. 232:5, pp. 492-498).
Ameloblastoma is most often found in the posterior of the lower jaw. It is treated by surgery, often resulting in tissue deficiencies in the jaw, as well as loss of several teeth. A suitable drug therapy could reduce the need for surgery and the recurrence of these tumors, but finding such a treatment requires a better understanding of its pathogenesis.
Researchers have been searching for the mutation that causes ameloblastoma for decades; now this mutation has now been found in a patient living in Finland.
The core of the team making the discovery comprises researchers of the University of Turku and the University of Eastern Finland. According to the leaders of the team, Klaus Elenius, MD, a professor of medical biochemistry at the University of Turku, and Kristiina Heikinheimo, DDS, PhD, a professor of oral diagnostic sciences at the University of Eastern Finland, the finding is a scientific breakthrough. The significance of the finding is further emphasized by the fact that it has direct implications for treatment, because a targeted drug for the mutation in question already exists.
