Clinical Features of the Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: Two Centers Experience
1University of Health Sciences Turkey, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Hematology, Antalya, Turkey
2Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Hematology, Antalya, Turkey
Eur Arch Med Res 2022; 38(2): 102-110 DOI: 10.4274/eamr.galenos.2021.82905
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Abstract

Objective: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by the clonal proliferation of lymphocytes. The aim of the study was to analyze the demographic data, treatment indications, treatment responses and total survival data of patients with the diagnosis of CLL.

Methods: The study was conducted retrospectively in 183 patients who were followed up in the hematology departments of two centers between 1999 and 2014.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 64.72±11.40 years and 120 (65.6%) patients were male and 63 (34.4%) were female. Overall survival (OS) was not different between patients who had monoclonal gammopathy and those who did not (p=0.922). Among the patients, 105 received treatment while 78 of them were observed without a treatment. Chlorambucil was the most frequently (33%) used drug during the first line of chemotherapy. The difference between the distribution of male and female patients according to risk groups was statistically significant (p=0.018). Among patients who did not receive therapy and with higher Rai and Binet stages, overall and progression free survive were lower (p=0.0011). Furthermore, increases in β2-microglobulin and sedimentation revealed lower rates of survival (p=0.001 and p=0.008 respectively).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that monoclonal bands are not associated with survival in CLL. Although the demographic information of our patients was similar to that of patients in other studies, OS was found to be less. This issue can be explained by the fact that the patients receiving chemotherapy were at a further stage.