Pediatric acute lymphocytic leukemia with osseous changes in jaws: Literature review and report of a case

A case of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in a child is presented. We also reviewed the recent literature of similar cases describing leukemic jaw bones involvement in Japan. Radiographic examinations of the patient disclosed diffuse osteolytic changes of the entire jaws, the corticated border of the crypts of developing teeth, loss of lamina dura, a thickened periodontal space and disappearance of the radiopaque lines that delineate the borders of the mandibular canal. Pronounced regression and restoration of the alveolar bone and the crypts were detectable on the radiographs taken after a course of the treatment for ALL. An apparent radiographic change of jaw bone after the treatment indicates that the radiographic examinations of children with leukemia in the leukemic process are of quite diagnostic value.