The computed tomographic appearances of cherubism

Efficacy and Toxicity of Calcitonin Treatment in Children with Cherubism: A Single-Center Cohort Study

Cherubism is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by expansile osteolytic jawbone lesions. The effect and safety of off-label calcitonin treatment during the progressive phase of the disease are not well described. In this retrospective study, we present data on the radiological response and adverse effects of subcutaneously administered calcitonin in a cohort of nine cherubism children (three female, six male). Two of the nine patients underwent two separate treatment courses with a significant off-treatment interval in between; therefore, a total of 11 treatment courses with a mean duration of 17.9 months (range <1 to 35, SD 10.8) were studied. To measure the response, the cumulative volume of cherubism lesions was calculated from available three-dimensional imaging. The primary outcome was the change in the volume of lesions during calcitonin treatment and only assessed for the eight treatment courses with a minimal duration of 6 months. A statistically significant reduction in the mean cumulative volume of lesions was seen regardless of treatment duration. Average volume reduction was highest in the first half year of treatment, with a gradual, ongoing reduction thereafter. For the secondary outcome, the change in the cumulative volume of lesions after treatment cessation was assessed for the seven treatment courses with follow-up imaging available. After six of these seven treatment courses, the cumulative volume increased again but remained undoubtedly smaller than the initial volume at the start of therapy. Adverse effects were assessed for all 11 treatment courses and occurred in 73% of them. Most adverse effects were mild and low grade, with the most severe being one grade 3 symptomatic hypocalcemia requiring hospitalization and early treatment termination. Calcitonin treatment seems effective and tolerable in treating actively progressing cherubism in children. However, further research is required to better understand the pharmacological treatment of cherubism, including also other drugs, dosing, and protocols. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Multiple versus solitary giant cell lesions of the jaw: Similar or distinct entities?

The majority of giant cell lesions of the jaw present as a solitary focus of disease in bones of the maxillofacial skeleton. Less frequently they occur as multifocal lesions. This raises the clinical dilemma if these should be considered distinct entities and therefore each need a specific therapeutic approach. Solitary giant cell lesions of the jaw present with a great diversity of symptoms. Recent molecular analysis revealed that these are associated with somatic gain-of-function mutations in KRAS, FGFR1 or TRPV4 in a large component of the mononuclear stromal cells which all act on the RAS/MAPK pathway. For multifocal lesions, a small group of neoplastic multifocal giant cell lesions of the jaw remain after ruling out hyperparathyroidism. Strikingly, most of these patients are diagnosed with jaw lesions before the age of 20 years, thus before the completion of dental and jaw development. These multifocal lesions are often accompanied by a diagnosis or strong clinical suspicion of a syndrome. Many of the frequently reported syndromes belong to the so-called RASopathies, with germline or mosaic mutations leading to downstream upregulation of the RAS/MAPK pathway. The other frequently reported syndrome is cherubism, with gain-of-function mutations in the SH3BP2 gene leading through assumed and unknown signaling to an autoinflammatory bone disorder with hyperactive osteoclasts and defective osteoblastogenesis. Based on this extensive literature review, a RAS/MAPK pathway activation is hypothesized in all giant cell lesions of the jaw. The different interaction between and contribution of deregulated signaling in individual cell lineages and crosstalk with other pathways among the different germline- and non-germline-based alterations causing giant cell lesions of the jaw can be explanatory for the characteristic clinical features. As such, this might also aid in the understanding of the age-dependent symptomatology of syndrome associated giant cell lesions of the jaw; hopefully guiding ideal timing when installing treatment strategies in the future.

Cherubism: A Rare Fibro-Osseous Disorder Characterized and Diagnosed by one Stop Imaging with Technetium-99m Methylene Diphosphonate Bone Scintigraphy Integrated with Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography-Computed Tomography

Cherubism, a rare hereditary fibro-osseous lesion characterized by painless expansion of jaws, starts early in life manifesting itself fully in the second decade of life and is almost regressed in the third decade. Here, we report a sporadic case of Cherubism with clinico-radiological and scintigraphic presentation of its classical features for its disease rarity and single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography findings with review the literature.

Orphan disease: Cherubism, optic atrophy, and short stature

A 12-year-old female presented with complaints of progressive visual impairment in both her eyes. On clinical examination, she was short for her age and her ophthalmoscopic examination revealed bilateral optic atrophy. Computed tomography of the patient revealed multiple expansile lytic lesions of mandible suggesting cherubism. The optic atrophy was confirmed on magnetic resonance imaging, which additionally revealed bilateral retrocerebellar arachnoid cysts. This association of cherubism with optic atrophy and short stature was grouped as orphan disease by National Institutes of Health and only one case was reported in the literature so far.

Cherubism: panoramic and CT features in adults

OBJECTIVES

To describe the panoramic radiographic and CT features of cherubism in an unselected series of 15 adults.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 15 individuals aged 29-84 years with familial non-syndromal molecularly confirmed cherubism were examined with panoramic radiography and CT. Bone abnormalities were analysed and described.

RESULTS

11 (73%) of the 15 adults had mandibular abnormalities. These abnormalities ranged from subtly detectable to severe, and were less prevalent and expansive but could be rather similar to the characteristic image features in children. Unilocular radiolucencies were more common than multilocular radiolucencies, and a specific feature of these abnormalities was that they were exclusively found in the anterior mandible.

CONCLUSIONS

The radiographic and CT abnormalities of cherubism in adults were frequent and extremely heterogeneous, with some distinct features.

Clinical and radiological features of nonfamilial cherubism: A case report

Background:

Cherubism is an uncommon hereditary benign fibro-osseous disorder characterized by bilateral enlargement of the mandible and the maxilla that presents with varying degrees of involvement and a tendency toward spontaneous remission. On radiography cherubic lesions appear as cystic multilocular radiolucencies limited to the jaw bones.

Case Report:

A 5-year-old boy was referred to the Department of Maxillo-Facial Surgery due to deformation of the lower and middle section of the face and displacement or absence of teeth. A panoramic radiograph and a computed tomography revealed extensive multilocular, bilateral radiolucent areas and marked bony expansion in the mandible and maxilla, with sparing of the mandibular condyles. Histopathological evaluation of an incisional biopsy of the left maxilla and genotypic characterization confirmed the diagnosis of cherubism.

Conclusions:

The radiologic characteristics of cherubism are not pathognomonic but the diagnosis is strongly suggested by bilateral relatively symmetric jaw involvement that is limited to the jaw bones and, together with clinical and histopathologic findings, enables the diagnosis of cherubism. Genotypic characterization confirms the diagnosis.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia: Kartagener syndrome with central giant cell granuloma. A case report

This paper describes a clinical case of both giant cell granuloma and Kartagener syndrome in a 15-year-old male patient, with emphasis on the radiographic aspects of this extremely unusual pathology. To our knowledge, the presence of these 2 rare clinical conditions in the same patient has not been previously reported.

Central giant cell granuloma of the jaws: clinical and radiological evaluation of 22 cases

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to investigate the clinical and radiological characteristics of central giant cell granulomas (CGCGs) of the jaws.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of a 20-year database was performed regarding both clinical and radiological features of 22 patients affected with CGCGs of the jaws.

RESULTS

Fourteen women and 8 men were included with the age range of 7-81 years (mean 31.7 years). Among the 22 lesions, 16 were located in the mandible and 6 in the maxilla. Painless swelling was the most common clinical feature in 18 of all cases. Limited mouth opening was noted in 2 patients where the lesions involved the condyle. Radiographically, 13 lesions were homogeneously osteolytic and 9 lesions were trabeculated. Fifteen lesions were unilocular and 14 lesions presented with well-defined but not sclerotic margins. CT images in 5 patients clearly showed the trabeculation within the lesions. The follow-up ranged from 1.5 to 11 years with a mean period of 5 years. Three out of 9 aggressive and 1 out of 13 nonaggressive lesions developed recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Diagnosis of CGCGs of the jaws depends on both correct interpretation of clinical, radiographic and pathological data. Differentiation between aggressive and nonaggressive CGCGs should be considered to improve individual treatment planning.

Radiographic, CT and MRI features of cherubism

Cherubism is a paediatric disease affecting the jaws. It is a close radiological mimic of giant cell lesions of the mandible. The radiographic features of this condition are well known; however, the MR imaging features have not been well described. We describe the radiographic, CT and MR imaging features of cherubism in a 5-year-old girl. We highlight the MR appearances of cherubic lesions and the ability of MRI to not only accurately depict the anatomical extent of the lesions, but also to reveal signal intensity changes in those areas that are apparently normal on radiographs and CT images.

Cherubism associated with neurofibromatosis type 1, and multiple osteolytic lesions of both femurs: a previously undescribed association of findings

We present a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1, with the clinical, radiological and histological features of cherubism mandibular lesions, and multiple osteolytic, geographic lesions in both femurs, consistent with multiple non-ossifying fibromas. We have been unable to find a similar case in the world literature. We discuss our findings in relationship with a number of syndromes that present clinical, radiological or pathological similarities.

Cherubism: Review of four affected members in a Kuwaiti family

Cherubism is a rare autosomal dominant fibro-osseous disorder of childhood, mostly limited to the maxilla and mandible. Extra-cranial skeletal involvement is rare. Post-pubertal involution of the process and jaw remodeling occurs in adulthood. The aim of this case report is to present four cherubs, a father and his three daughters, in whom the diagnosis was made based on history, physical examination, laboratory tests and typical radiological features. The imaging characteristics are discussed and the published literature is reviewed.

Temporal bone involvement in cherubism: case report

Cherubism is a rare benign hereditary fibro-osseous disease involving the mandible and maxilla. We report a case of cherubism in a 10-year-old girl for which the panoramic radiograph was insufficient for diagnosis of the disease. Clinical, histological, and radiological findings were discussed. The CT was taken and it confirmed not only the involvement of the jaws but also of the temporal bone. This was not found in the conventional radiograph.

Querubismo: relato de caso e revisão da literatura com aspectos imaginológicos

Querubismo é uma doença óssea hereditária não neoplásica caracterizada, clinicamente, por aumento indolor bilateral da mandíbula e maxilar em crianças, produzindo uma aparência querubínica. Pode ocorrer em casos isolados ou em membros de uma mesma família. Relatamos o caso de querubismo em uma menina sem história familiar, com lesões osteolíticas expansivas na mandíbula e maxila demonstradas em exames radiológicos.

Imaging characteristics of cherubism

OBJECTIVE

We sought to describe the radiographic and imaging features of cherubism.

CONCLUSION

Cherubism is a rare osseous disorder of children and adolescents. Although the radiologic characteristics of cherubism are not pathognomonic, the diagnosis is strongly suggested by bilateral relatively symmetric jaw involvement that is limited to the maxilla and mandible. Imaging typically shows expansile remodeling of the involved bones, thinning of the cortexes, and multilocular radiolucencies with a coarse trabecular pattern.

A missense mutation in the SH3BP2 gene on chromosome 4p16.3 found in a case of nonfamilial cherubism

OBJECTIVE

Cherubism is a rare hereditary multilocular cystic disease of the jaws, characterized by its typical appearance. Although nonfamilial cases have been reported, it is difficult to distinguish nonfamilial cherubism from central giant cell granuloma. Recent studies have revealed the point mutations in the SH3BP2 gene on chromosome 4p16.3 in cherubism families. In this article, the SH3BP2 gene in nonfamilial cherubism was examined.

PATIENT

A 21-year-old Japanese woman with nonfamilial cherubism.

INTERVENTIONS

Genomic DNA was purified from a blood sample obtained from the patient and used for direct sequencing. In addition, a sample of the lesion, resected during surgery, was used for histologic and immunohistochemical purposes.

RESULTS

Genomic DNA sequencing found a Pro418Arg mutation in the SH3BP2 gene of the patient. In a histochemical analysis, the multinucleated giant cells proved to be strongly positive for PGM-1, KP-1, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and faintly positive for osteopontin.

CONCLUSIONS

The missense mutation Pro418Arg was identified in the SH3BP2 gene from a nonfamilial case of cherubism. DNA diagnosis may play a significant role in the identification of cherubism.

[Clinical and molecular genetic observations on families with cherubism over three generations]

BACKGROUND

Cherubism is a rare fibro-osseous disorder that almost exclusively affects the maxilla and mandible.

CASE REPORT

We report on three affected males in three generations in family A, and ten affected patients in family B. The youngest affected relative in family A also had craniosynostosis. His father and grandfather had cherubism and clubbed fingers.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Cherubism was mapped to region 4p16.3. Because of the associated craniosynostosis, we excluded the FGFR3 gene as a candidate gene for cherubism. The inheritance pattern is autosomal dominant with variable expression. The penetrance is 100% in males and 50-70% in females. We found incomplete penetrance in males, which does not conform with all publications.

Cherubism: diagnostic imaging and review of the literature in Japan

Cherubism is a nonneoplastic disease of bone characterized by clinical, bilateral, painless enlargements of the jaws that are said to give the patient a cherubic appearance. Cherubism may appear in solitary cases or in many members of the family, often in multiple generations. On radiography the lesions have the appearance of bilateral multilocular radiolucent areas. On histopathologic evaluation the lesions show proliferating fibrous connective tissue containing numerous multinucleated giant cells. Since it was first described by Jones in 1933, many cases have been documented without restriction to any one country or ethnic group, but only a few cases have been reported in Japan, apparently because it is rare here. We report a case of cherubism in a 15-year-old boy and review the Japanese literature.

Case report 784: Fibrous dysplasia of the second pedal digit

In summary, we have reported on an unusual form of fibrous dysplasia, presumptively monostotic, localized to the middle phalanx of the second pedal digit, and presenting as a mass. Monostotic fibrous dysplasia of phalanges of the foot is rare, but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a mass in the foot.

Cherubism: diagnosis, treatment, and comparison with central giant cell granulomas and giant cell tumors

An extensive case of cherubism in a 17-year-old girl with no apparent familial history is presented. The rationale for treatment is presented and is compared with previous reports that have advocated nontreatment. The clinical and histologic similarities of cherubism to central giant cell granuloma and the giant cell tumor of bone are also discussed.

Noonan-like/multiple giant cell lesion syndrome

A patient with the Noonan-like/multiple giant cell lesion syndrome is reported and the findings in 14 cases are reviewed. Impressive manifestations include short stature, low normal intelligence or developmental delay, ocular hypertelorism, prominent posteriorly angulated ears, giant cell lesions of bones, joints, and/or soft tissues, pectus excavatum, and pulmonic stenosis. It has been difficult to delineate the syndrome because problems in identifying the condition have resulted from incomplete or truncate ascertainment by various medical specialists.