Mandibular condylar hyperplasia and its correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor

BackgroundCondylar hyperplasia (CH) is a rare condition characterised by excessive unilateral growth of the mandibular condyle after cessation of growth on the contralateral side causing facial asymmetry, being more prevalent in the second and third decades. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the utility of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) as a diagnostic and prognostic factor in condylar hyperplasia, and to determine its potential viability as a therapeutic target. MethodsThis is a case-control study, where 17 mandibular condyles specimens were collected from 17 patients treated for active mandibular condyle hyperplasia and three unaffected human mandibular condyles from cadavers will serve as the control group. The samples were immunostained with VEGF-A antibody and evaluated on both quantity and intensity of staining. ResultsVEGF-A was qualitatively found to be greatly upregulated in patients with condylar hyperplasia. ConclusionVEGF-A was qualitatively found to be upregulated in patients affected by CH, validating VEGF-A as a potential diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic target.