Pattern of adult leukemias at Al-Jomhori Educational Hospital, Sana'a, Yemen.
There is lack of information about leukemias in Yemen. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the pattern of adult leukemias at Al-Jomhori Educational Hospital in Sana'a, Yemen and to compare it with available data from Saudi Arabia. Data concerning age, sex, area of residence whether rural or urban and the type of leukemia were collected and analyzed. The age range of patients was 15 to 96 years. Diagnosis was based on bone marrow aspiration cytology and cytochemistry. Between November 1999 and November 2003 a total of 169 cases of leukemia were diagnosed. AML was the most common (39.1%) followed in descending order by CML (25.4%), ALL (23.7%) and CLL (11.8%). The male to female ratio was 1.14: 1 for all the types, 1.06: 1 for AML, 2.64: 1 for ALL, 0.65: 1 for CML and 1: 1 for CLL. AML was most common among patients aged 40-59 years old (30.3%) followed by ≥ 60 years old (25.8%). ALL was most common among young patients < 20 years old and CLL among elderly patients whereas CML was most common among middle aged patient. The rural to urban residence ratio was 2.8: 1 for all the types. Leukemia is an important health problem in Yemen and the pattern of adult leukemias is comparable in certain aspects to that reported from different regions of Saudi Arabia. The study recommends implementation of preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for leukemias in Yemen.
Jameel
J
Al-Ghazaly