SUMMARY

Background: Chronic myeloid leukemia is a form of chronic myeloproliferative disorder described by the presence of specific haematological and cytogenetic markers. It is a very common blood neoplasm that usually requires a basic clinical history, review, and regular blood examination to diagnose. If detected early, it has a high cure rate.

Objective: To assess the clinical and laboratory features of chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Haematology, Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi 1^st January 2012 to 31^st December 2016

Methodology: One hundred and forty four chronic myeloid leukemia patients visited the study site during this period, of which 132 were in the chronic phase and met the eligibility criteria. The patient’s data, including age, gender, clinical and laboratory parameters were obtained.

Results: One hundred and fifteen (87.1%) had constitutional symptoms, predominantly fatigue and abdominal discomfort. The clinical presentation displayed splenomegaly among 89.3% of patients with a mean spleen span of 18.9±3.7 cm and massive splenomegaly in 32.5% of patients. Haematological presentation at baseline showed that the mean haemoglobin level of the enrolled patients was 9.6±2.0g/dl, TLC was 167.6±123.3x10⁹/l, and platelet count was 398.7±281.9x10⁹/l. Furthermore, 19.4%of patients were anaemic, and hyperleukocytosis was detected in 24.2%. High LDH, hyperuricemia and elevated serum creatinine were present in 38.6%, 40.9%, and 14.3%, respectively.

Conclusion: Unlike the western countries, chronic myeloid leukemiais more prevalent in a very young age group in Pakistan. The chronic myeloid leukemia patients displayed variable clinical and haematological presentation. Constitutional symptoms and splenomegaly were consistent features among the majority of patients.