Isolated extramedullary relapse of acute myelogenous leukemia in a tooth
Maygarden, S.J.; Askin, F.B.; Burkes, E.J.; McMillan, C.; Sanders, J.E.
Modern Pathology An Official Journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology Inc 2(1): 59-62
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0893-3952 PMID: 2646632 Document Number: 328869
We report a case of isolated extramedullary relapse of acute myelogenous leukemia in a tooth following bone marrow transplantation. The patient was a 4-yr-old child who developed gingival swelling and bleeding while in bone marrow remission. Crush artifact prevented definitive diagnosis of leukemic relapse in a biopsy of the gingival soft tissue, but decalcification of the tooth showed an unequivocal leukemic infiltrate in the dental pulp. Decalcification and sectioning of extracted teeth are recommended when equivocal findings are present in the gingival soft tissue or when there is a history of lymphoreticular malignancy.