title: Clinical and prognostic features of patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia and extramedullary disease.
abstract: Twenty-four patients who developed extramedullary disease during the course of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia are described. The most frequent sites of extramedullary disease were lymph nodes (54%), bone (37%), and skin and soft tissue (29%). The appearance of extramedullary disease was associated with a high incidence of other features of accelerated disease (37%) and with cytogenetic clonal evolution (62.5%). The median time from extramedullary disease to blastic crisis was 4 months, and the median survival was 5 months. At the time of analysis, 23 patients have died, 16 after evolving into blastic crisis, and 7 from progressive disease without satisfying the criteria of medullary blastic crisis. This study confirms the importance of extramedullary disease as a sign of poor prognosis in chronic myelogenous leukemia, and the need for alternate therapies when such an event develops.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Terjanian
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kantarjian
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keating
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Talpaz
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McCredie
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Freireich
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009196:Myeloproliferative Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010677:Philadelphia Chromosome; D011379:Prognosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary; D013997:Time Factors