Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, monocytic variant. Report of a case

This report documents a case of a patient presenting unusual oral features of one of the rarer variants of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia, a malignancy whose oral manifestations may be the first indication of the presence of an underlying blood dyscrasia. The findings at the initial appointment and the patient's progress for the following 13 months until his death are presented. Initial suspicion of the clinical symptoms and an immediate, subsequent hospital hematology report established the diagnosis. The histologic features of a gingival biopsy taken during the oral examination were strongly suggestive of leukemia. Since the leukemias may imitate other oral conditions, especially various diseases of the periodontium, it is of paramount importance that the dental clinician recognize their clinical manifestations. As future treatment modalities improve, the dental clinician is seeing more leukemic patients in remission as well as more cases that have relapsed.