Squamous cell carcinoma of the buccal mucosa in a young adult with history of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for childhood acute leukemia

Background. Secondary cancers are severe complications in patients who have had allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for childhood leukemia. We describe here a case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the buccal mucosa in a young adult patient who had had allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for childhood acute leukemia. Methods and Results. The primary tumor was treated with interstitial brachytherapy, and lymph node metastasis was treated by supraomohyoid neck dissection. The patient had a history of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at 11 years of age and had received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant from a female donor. Further investigation of the tissue specimens by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed that an XX chromosome pattern was dominant in the tumor region, and this suggested that donor-derived cells might affect carcinogenesis in the recipient. Conclusions. This case presents an incidence of secondary oral cancer associated with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2009