What Is Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and How Is It Diagnosed?

What Is Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and How Is It Diagnosed?

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Write a short note on chronic myeloid leukemia.
Answer:

Chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia is a hematological malignancy in which myeloid leukemia cells are predominant.

• Chronic myeloid leukemia comprises about 20% of all leukemias.
• More in 3rd and 4th decade of life.

“Complications of delaying CML diagnosis”

Chronic myeloid leukemia Clinical Features

• Features of anemia are seen, i.e. weakness, pallor, dyspnea, and tachycardia.
• Symptoms due to hypermetabolism-weight loss, lassitude, anorexia, and night sweats.
• Splenomegaly is almost always present and is frequently massive.
• Bleeding tendencies: Easy bruising, epistaxis, menorrhagia, and hematomas.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

“Understanding chronic myeloid leukemia: Causes and symptoms”

Features of gout, visual disturbances, neurological manifestations, and priapism less commonly, lymph node enlargement, frequent infections, and facial rash in juvenile CML.

Chronic myeloid leukemia Lab Findings

• Blood picture
  • Anemia: It is normocytic and normochromic
  • WBCs: Leucocytosis is present in 10,000 cells/ml
  • Platelets: Platelet count is normal but can be raised.

“Case studies on outcomes of chronic myeloid leukemia”

• Bone marrow findings
  • Cellularity: Hypercellularity with total or partial replacement of fat spaces by proliferating myeloid cells
  • Myeloid cells: They predominate in bone marrow with an increased myeloid-erythroid ratio
  • Erythropoiesis: It is normoblasts but the reduction in erythropoietic cells
  • Megakaryocytes: Smaller in size than normal.
  • There is an increase in number of phagocytes.
• Cytogenetics: A characteristic chromosomal abnormality called the Philadelphia chromosome formed by a reciprocal translocation between the part of the long arm of chromosome 22 and that of chromosome 9 is usually seen in 70 to 90% of cases.

CML diagnosis

“Radiographic features of CML-related complications”

Chronic myeloid leukemia Treatment

• Chronic phase: Respond favorably to chemotherapy.
• • The main chemotherapeutic agents used are Busalphan, hydroxyurea, and cyclophosphamide.
  • Others splenectomy, leucopheresis, and bone marrow transplantation.
• Blast crisis: Remission of the actual blastic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia can be obtained by vincristine and prednisone or other combination chemotherapy regimes.