ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to reveal the frequency between cleft lip/palate and leukemia in pediatric patients by a systematic analysis of the current literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Electronic search on three database (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane) was carried out using the following keywords: cleft lip, cleft palate, facial cleft, oral cleft, orofacial cleft, leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia, lymphoma. Studies published until March 2020 reporting an association between leukemia and cleft lip/palate (CL/P) were included in our research. RESULTS: Five articles (2 case-controls, 3 cohorts), met the inclusion criteria. Case-control studies involved 268 patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and 177 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), of which 9 patients had CL/P. The cohorts studies involved 10 patients with ALL, of which 6 patients with CL/P, 2 patients with cleft palate and 1 patient with cleft lip and palate. CONCLUSION: This research was able to indicate a limited evidence of the association between CL/P and leukemia. In order to draw a clear conclusion, studies with larger cohorts are needed to establish this correlation.
