RESUMO
PURPOSES: This study aimed to determine the differential diagnosis of three intraosseous lesions (odontogenic keratocyst (OKC), central giant cell granuloma (CGCG), and dentigerous cyst (DC)) of the dentomaxillofacial region with very similar radiological and clinical features by using chemometrics assisted FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy in tissue samples. METHODS: Tissue samples (exposed to formaldehyde for a similar time) of 20-micron thickness belonging to 19 intraosseous lesions diagnosed histopathologically were obtained from the pathology laboratory. The samples were analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopic method using the 400-4000 cm-1 wavenumber range, and the obtained spectra of the samples were evaluated using the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) algorithm. RESULTS: The intraosseous lesions with different histopathological diagnoses were accurately and precisely clustered with different FT-IR bands corresponding to the main molecular vibrations, especially the phosphodiester region, of the tissue components using the proposed model with 3 latent variables. CONCLUSIONS: The model showed high sensitivity and specificity. The present study is the first to report the elucidation of clear spectral differences between similar lesions in the maxillofacial region. In the future, the FT-IR method may be used in the non-destructive classification of similar lesions in the maxillofacial region as an alternative to histopathological evaluation.