A Curious Case of Jaw Swelling due to Precursor B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a rare leukemia in adults but is the most common type in children. We present a case of a 40-year-old female presenting with jaw pain and swelling with fever which appeared to be an abscess. Further evaluation revealed the presence of blast cells in the peripheral blood smear. Flow cytometry was performed which further revealed pre-B cell ALL. It underwent spontaneous tumor lysis and despite all the resuscitative measures, she succumbed to sepsis and multiorgan dysfunction. The purpose of this report is to document an unusual manifestation of an adult B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) presenting as a jaw mass masquerading as an abscess undergoing spontaneous tumor lysis.

Keywords

• jaw swelling
• leukemia
• lymphoma
• pre-b cell all