CHRONIC LEUKEMIA OF LONG DURATION: WITH A REPORT OF 31 CASES WITH A DURATION OF OVER FIVE YEARS

Abstract

The literature is reviewed with regard to avg. duration, instances of particularly long duration, remissions, effects of infection, effects of treatment, and prognosis. From approx. 190 cases of chronic myelogenous and chronic lymphatic leukemia observed, there were 31 patients who survived 5 yrs. or more after the diagnosis had been established by blood count. Few of the patients who lived long with lymphatic leukemia had significant anemia at the onset but one patient had significant anemia 11.6 yrs. ago. More marked anemia was a common early finding in the myelogenous group. Original white blood counts varied widely but there were none with leukopenia and none higher than 300,000 in the lymphatic or 500,000 in the myelogenous groups. At the original examination, the % of immature cells in the myelogenous series was low and few of these abnormal cells were blasts. Splenomegaly was marked at the onset of 3 of the myelogenous cases and lymphadenopathy marked from the beginning in 4 of the lymphatic cases. The total dose of P32 given depended more on how long the patient was under supervision than on the severity of his leukemia, but 8 patients were treated with radioactive P only. Four patients exhibited prolonged remission following treatment. Infection apparently played no part in the long duration of these cases. In the lymphatic group, 15 of 16 cases were males, whereas the reverse held in the myeloid group. This finding suggest a hormonal factor. It was concluded that although leukemia is not curable, many patients with this disease respond well to treatment and have relatively long, comfortable lives.