Nonsyndromic Oral Cleft in First-Degree Relatives of Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

Multiple studies have demonstrated an association between cancer and nonsyndromic oral clefts in different populations. In this study, we assessed the occurrence of nonsyndromic oral clefts in families of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n = 50) and controls (n = 125). The parents of the patients answered a questionnaire with basic demographic information and family history of nonsyndromic oral clefts in first-degree relatives. Statistical analysis was carried out using Fisher’s exact test. In the ALL group, 22 (44%) were male and 28 (56%) were female, and the average age was 13.2 ± 12.2 years. In the control group, 64 (51.2%) were male and 65 were female and the average age was 11.3 ± 10.3 years. Two out of 50 patients (4%) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia had a positive history of nonsyndromic oral clefts, whereas there were no reported occurrences of nonsyndromic oral clefts in the control group (OR: 12.94, 95% CI: 0.61–274.6, p = 0.08). Despite the limited population, the frequency of nonsyndromic oral clefts was increased in the first-degree relatives of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Studies with larger samples and molecular analyses are needed to better understand the possible etiological relationship between cancer and nonsyndromic oral clefts.

Cleft Lip/Palate and Cancer: a True Connection

“…Individuals born with these craniofacial conditions appeared to have a shorter lifespan of approximately 10 years, likely due to cancer 1 . When the association between clefts and cancer was investigated, it seemed that individuals born with clefts were more often diagnosed with cancer than the general population 2,3 , their unaffected parents were more likely to have cancer (particularly lymphomas and leukemia) 4 , and their families were more presumably to report cancer in comparison to other families not segregating cleft lip and palate [5][6][7][8] . When the inverse relationship was investigated, it was shown that individuals who survived cancer or were being treated after a cancer diagnosis were more probable to have a family history of cleft lip and palate 9,10 .…”