Which of the following symptoms is commonly associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children?

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, predominantly in children. One of the hallmark symptoms associated with ALL is bone pain, which occurs due to the infiltration of leukemic cells into the bone marrow. This infiltration can cause discomfort and lead to a limp, particularly because children with ALL may experience pain in their long bones, which can manifest as difficulty walking or favoring one leg.

Bone pain coupled with limping is often one of the first signs observed in children with ALL, prompting further investigation. It is important for clinicians to consider this symptom in the context of other findings, such as fatigue due to anemia or bruising from thrombocytopenia, which may also be present, but the characteristic bone pain is a key indicator of the disease in this age group.