Extranodal American Burkitt's lymphoma of the head and neck

Burkitt's lymphoma was first described in 1958 as a mandibular malignancy found in African children. The American, or nonendemic, form of the disease differs from the African form in that the tumor most often presents with abdominal or bone marrow involvement. Head and neck manifestations of American Burkitt's lymphoma are encountered in less than a quarter of the reported cases and usually present as cervical adenopathy. A review of all cases of American Burkitt's lymphoma treated at the UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, Calif, from 1971 to 1989 revealed an unusual subset of seven patients with American Burkitt's lymphoma of the head and neck who presented with extranodal disease of the soft tissues or bones of the face. The medical literature was reviewed to compile similar cases of extranodal American Burkitt's lymphoma. The clinical and pathologic features of these cases, their radiographic findings, and treatment are described.