Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a-twenty-years experience and problems in Ile-Ife, South-Western Nigeria.

AIM: To investigate the usefulness of some clinical and laboratory parameters in assessing the prognosis and survival of CLL in a resource-limited setting.

METHODS

Between September 1986 and March 2007, 79 consecutive patients were retrospectively studied. Diagnosis was based on clinical and haematological findings.

RESULTS

A total of 79 patients, aged 30 to 81 (median = 60) years were managed. There were 34 males and 45 females (ratio = 0.8:1). About 86.1% were aged above 50 years. Massive splenomegaly and hepatomegaly were recorded in 70.9% and 29.1% of patients, respectively. More than 63% presented in stage C. Anaemia was recorded in 74.7%. Haematocrit correlated negatively with WBC but positively with platelet count. The spleen correlated positively with liver. The overall survival at 2 years was 70.2%. Logistic regression showed that younger age, male sex, higher haematocrit, and lower platelet count improved survival, while lower WBC, moderate hepatomegaly and splenomegaly conferred survival advantage.

CONCLUSION

It could be concluded that massive splenomegaly is a common finding in the majority of our patients. Non availability of immunophenotyping facility is a major constraint.