Pathology · patient case question
What is the essential next step?
Patient case: Woman with a soap-bubble radiolucency in the maxilla
Patient: Female, 65 years old
Chief complaint: Referred following an abnormal radiographic finding.
Background: Treated for breast cancer 2 years ago.
Current findings: Bone loss across all maxillary left quadrant teeth. A radiolucent lesion with a soap-bubble appearance lies between teeth #2 and #3.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Incisional biopsy for histopathological diagnosis
- A. CORRECT. No definitive treatment may be planned from a radiographic impression alone. An INCISIONAL BIOPSY establishes the histological diagnosis and distinguishes between the possibilities — which here range from a benign odontogenic tumour to metastatic carcinoma, with entirely different management pathways.
- B. Observation of an undiagnosed destructive lesion in a patient with a cancer history is unacceptable.
- C. Enucleation presupposes a diagnosis that has not yet been made, and would be inadequate for either ameloblastoma or metastasis.
- D. Resection without a tissue diagnosis is indefensible.