Abstract

Burkitt's lymphoma is the most frequent subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in childhood. Radiographic findings are protean and can often overlap with other neoplastic and nonneoplastic processes. We present an unusual case of Burkitt's lymphoma in a 12-year-old boy presenting with a one-week history of urinary retention, dysuria, and “tailbone pain,” as well as a 4-week history of jaw pain, initially treated as a dental abscess. On dental radiography, the patient was found to have resorption of alveolar bone adjacent to the lower first molars bilaterally, in keeping with “floating teeth,” classically associated with Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Additionally, a large, eccentric, prostatic mass was noted, prompting the inclusion of rhabdomyosarcoma on the differential diagnosis, with subsequent definitive diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma on tissue and bone marrow biopsy. This case highlights the imaging overlap of these childhood neoplasms with an unusual lymphomatous prostate mass. It is important that the radiologists and pediatricians be aware of this potential overlap and the unusual presentation of Burkitt's lymphoma.

Highlights

  • Burkitt’s lymphoma was first described in 1958, by the surgeon Denis Burkitt, who while working in Uganda, noted children with rapidly enlarging tumors of the jaw [1, 2]

  • We present an unusual case of Burkitt’s lymphoma in a 12-yearold boy presenting with a one-week history of urinary retention, dysuria, and “tailbone pain,” as well as a 4-week history of jaw pain, initially treated as a dental abscess

  • In a multi-institutional study of 62 cases of malignant lymphoma involving the prostate, only one case was found to be Burkitt’s lymphoma; this happened to be in the single child [5]

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Summary

Introduction

Burkitt’s lymphoma was first described in 1958, by the surgeon Denis Burkitt, who while working in Uganda, noted children with rapidly enlarging tumors of the jaw [1, 2]. The World Health Organization characterizes Burkitt’s lymphoma into 3 types: endemic, sporadic, and immunodeficiency-associated [1]. Endemic Burkitt’s lymphoma is associated with EpsteinBarr virus (EBV) in 95% of cases and is most commonly found in equatorial Africa and Papua New Guinea [1]. Burkitt’s lymphoma is the most frequent subtype of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in childhood, with the jaw and abdomen, terminal ileum, being the most common sites; it grows rapidly, with a doubling time of 24 hours [1]. Jaw involvement is common in the endemic type of Burkitt’s lymphoma but far less common in the sporadic type [3]

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