Chronic myeloid leukemia following treatment for primary neoplasms or other medical conditions: A report of 21 cases and review of the literature

Abstract

Objectives: Therapy-related chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has been reported, but its clinical presentation and pathologic features have not yet been well characterized. Methods: Twenty-one cases of CML following treatment for primary diseases were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Results: The clinical presentation, pathologic features, and cytogenetic profile were similar to de novo CML. In particular, those with an isolated Philadelphia chromosome constituted 88.9% of our cases, and additional aberrations characteristic of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia/ myelodysplastic syndrome (AML/MDS) were not identified in this study. The patients responded to imatinib/ derivatives and survived with limited follow-up. Conclusions: Therapy-related CML has a clinical presentation, pathologic features, and cytogenetic profile akin to de novo CML. Absence of additional significant aberrations seems to suggest a pathogenesis different from therapy-related AML/MDS. Therapy-related CML exhibits a robust therapeutic response to imatinib/ derivatives and favorable clinical outcomes similar to de novo CML.