[Rare presentation of acute myeloid leukemia in head and neck area, differential diagnosis and a case presentation]

Differential diagnosis of lateral neck masses is vast, it may be one of many possible pathologies, it may appear in any age group and could be a presentation of a congenital, inflamed or a reactive structure, salivary gland pathology and of a traumatic or an latrogenic origin. Neck mass in adults of 40 years old or older require an immediate attention, the primary concern is of a metastatic dissemination of a local or a distant primary malignancy, in 74% the primary is local and in 11% distant. A 43 years old male, otherwise healthy, was admitted to the ER with a chief complain of a right submandibular mass, presenting over 3 weeks. Prior to addmition he was initially mistreated for odontogenic abscess by extraction of inflamed teeth in right posterior mandibular segment and an antibiotic regime by augmentin and metronidazole, with no resolution. On admission he presented an abnormal blood count, with a severe leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and neutropenia. A bone marrow biopsy has shown a massive infiltration of myeloid blast cells, consequently he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and the lateral neck mass was clinically diagnosed as a Chloroma.