Cell block technique as a complementary method in the clinical diagnosis of cyst-like lesions of the jaw

Objective: to evaluate the applicability of the cell block technique as a complementary method for presumptive diagnosis in the analysis of cyst-like aspirates from jaw lesions prior to histopathological diagnosis. material and methods: the sample was made up of 17 cyst-like jaw lesions. after puncture,the aspirates were centrifuged,fixed in formalin,embedded in paraffin and processed. all lesions were biopsied and submitted to histopathological examination. results: in 9 cases,the cytopathological analysis using the cell block method showed a predominant presence of erythrocytes,inflammatory cells and few epithelial cells. in the other 8 cases,the cell block technique demonstrated the presence of parakeratin,whose histopathological analysis confirmed the occurrence of keratocystic odontogenic tumors (kots). conclusions: according to the studied cases,the cell block method was proven to be a simple,fast and low-cost technique to effectively differentiate kots from other lesions with similar clinical and radiographic features. the cell block technique comprises cellular preparations useful to determine a clinical diagnosis and help to develop a therapeutic plan for those lesions.