Portal hypertension in a patient with chronic myeloid leukaemia.

A patient with chronic myeloid leukaemia treated with busulphan for 4-5 years, developed signs of busulphan toxicity and portal hypertension with ascites, oesophageal varices and jaundice. At post-mortem there was minimal leukaemic infiltration but there were alterations in the liver architecture sufficient to explain the portal hypertension. The pathogenesis of the liver changes and their possible relationship to splenomegaly and busulphan toxicity are considered.