Diagnosis of Tooth Agenesis in Childhood and Risk for Neoplasms in Adulthood

Abstract

Background: Tooth agenesis, the congenital absence of one or more teeth, can be diagnosed in children in the first decade of life. Tooth agenesis is a phenotypic feature of conditions such as ectodermal dysplasia, cleft lip, cleft palate, Down syndrome, and Van der Woude syndrome. Tooth agenesis can also be nonsyndromic. Studies have shown an association between the genetic determinants of nonsyndromic tooth agenesis and neoplasms in adulthood. Methods: This review of the implications of tooth agenesis as a risk indicator for neoplasms in adulthood is based on a search of PubMed to identify published case series, case reports, and review articles. The reference articles were manually searched. The search was limited to articles published in the English language. Results: Neoplasms reported in patients with tooth agenesis include colorectal neoplasms and epithelial ovarian cancer, as well as family histories of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and cancers of the brain and nervous system. Conclusion: Although odontogenesis and tumorigenesis may seem to be unrelated processes, the clinical association between the two highlights the overlap of genetic determinants and molecular pathways. Tooth agenesis can be diagnosed during childhood and should be considered a marker for risk of neoplasms in adulthood. Healthcare providers should identify tooth agenesis and provide appropriate anticipatory guidance.Tooth agenesis can be classified based on the number of congenitally missing teeth. Hypodontia refers to the absence of fewer than 6 teeth (not including third molars). 5,6

Tooth agenesis: What do we know and is there a connection to cancer?

“…In addition to family and association studies, epidemiological data on tooth agenesis and cancer were collected in five original articles 71‐75 (discussed below) and four reviews 76‐79 . However, these reviews are based only on epidemiological data of mentioned five sources.…”

Non-syndromic occurrence of true generalized microdontia with hypodontia

“…It is suggested more than 300 genes regulate and control the process of tooth development. [18] The most well-studied genes related to hypodontia include AXIN2 , MSX1 , and PAX9. [19–21] These genes also participate in the development of other organs, thus hypodontia can occur with other syndromes such as cleft lip and palate, hereditary hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia and Down syndrome.…”

Methods of treatment of premolar agenesis: a literature review

“…zalecają dodanie genów BRCA1 oraz WNT10A do listy genów wspólnych dla występowania agenezji zawiązków zębów oraz nowotworów jajnika (10). Ustalenie korelacji pomiędzy obecnością nowotworów a zaburzeniami odontogenezy może być pomocne w badaniach przesiewowych pacjentów z agenezją zębów w kierunku wczesnej diagnostyki określonych typów nowotworów (11).…”

“…Bonds et al recommend to include the BRCA1 and WNT10A to the list of genes common for the occurrence of tooth agenesis and ovarian cancer (10). Establishing a correlation between the presence of tumors and odontogenesis may be helpful in screening patients with dental agenesis for early diagnosis of specific types of cancers (11).…”