‘Prolymphocytoid’ Cells in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia and their Prognostic Significance

Abstract

The morphology of lymphocytes in blood and bone marrow smears from 103 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was studied. Special attention was paid to finding immature cells with the morphological features of prolymphocytes (prolymphocytoid cells, PLC). The prognostic significance of these cells was examined. In 85 cases no PLC were found (group 1), in 8 cases the percentage was .ltoreq. 10% (group 2) and in 10 cases the PLC were > 10% (group 3). The cases with PLC, especially in group 3, fell in advanced stages of the disease (III-IV) and were presented with increased lymphocytosis. In 8 patients of group 3, who were followed until death, the disease became refractory to any treatment and the survival was short. Apparently, the prolymphocytoid transformation is a bad prognostic sign in CLL.