02-07-2025
What jaw symptoms can multiple myeloma cause?
Multiple myeloma (MM) can cause symptoms that affect the jaw bones, such as swelling and pain. MM is a cancer of the plasma cells found in the bone marrow, and bone problems are an important feature in diagnosing MM. According to a 2024 systematic review, about 35% of people with symptomatic MM develop lytic bone lesions that affect the jaw, which can cause pain in some people. A lytic bone lesion refers to an area of bone that has been destroyed, resulting in a hole. These lesions more commonly affect the upper jaw, called the maxilla. The lytic lesions appear because the cancer cells interact with the cells that keep the bones strong. The two kinds of bone cells that maintain the bones are osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts break down bone, and osteoblasts build new bone. MM cells make a substance that increases the number and speed of the osteoclasts, resulting in bone destruction, while the osteoblasts are unable to effectively form new symptoms may be the first sign of MM. Authors of the 2024 review state that 64% of cases presented with oral symptoms as the initial indication of MM, with the most common sign being jaw swelling. In some cases, this swelling was painless. However, in other cases, it caused pain, tingling, or numbness. Other oral symptoms a person with MM may experience include:difficulty opening the mouthswallowing difficultieshealing difficulties after a tooth extractiona soft mass of tissue on the tongue, gum, or inside the cheeksbleeding and swollen gumsloose teethroot reabsorption, which is when the immune system reabsorbs the root structure of the toothcandidiasis, or oral thrushThere are many other causes of jaw pain and swelling, such as dental problems and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. If a person is concerned that they have symptoms of MM, they should contact a doctor, who can help to accurately diagnose and treat the underlying moreWhat is the first sign of multiple myeloma?What conditions have similar symptoms to multiple myeloma?
