Odontogenic keratocysts are an important clue for diagnosing basal cell nevus syndrome

Basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS) is an autosomal dominant skin disorder characterized by multiple basal cell nevi. Patients with BCNS tend to develop basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and frequently show skeletal abnormalities. Most cases of BCNS are caused by mutations in patched 1 (PTCH1). PTCH1encodes a transmembrane receptor protein for the secreted molecule sonic hedgehog, which plays a key role in the development of animals ranging from insects to mammals. We analyzed two Japanese BCNS patients from two independent families. Both of our patients had multiple jaw keratocysts. In one patient, these were the key to noticing his BCNS, as he had no skin tumors. The early detection of PTCH1mutations would enable BCNS patients to be carefully followed up for the occurrence of BCC. The diagnosis of BCC at the early stage leads to prompt surgical treatments, resulting in a good prognosis. The present cases suggest that keratocysts of the jaw might be an important clue for diagnosing BCNS.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view the details of this license, please visit (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). This study was also supported in part by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18H02832 to M.A. and 20K08648 to T.T.