Michael Pesis DMD, Anna Pikovsky DMD, Navot Givol DMD
Ossifying fibroma (OF) of the jaws presents as a slow-growing, benign, fibro-osseous lesion that poses a risk for significant local destruction. Effective treatment of OF usually requires wide resection, which may lead to substantial morbidity. There are no alternative treatment options reported to date. Osteoclasts, a type of multinucleate giant cell that expresses receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa B ligand (RANKL), play a major role in OF pathogenesis as well as in central giant cell granuloma (CGCG). CGCG is currently treated with denosumab, a human monoclonal antibody that inhibits bone lysis by binding to RANKL.
In this study, we assessed whether denosumab could be used to treat OF while avoiding surgery. Denosumab successfully treated an aggressive craniofacial ossifying fibroma, circumventing the need for invasive surgery.