Acute leukemia in adults.

Prospective data on 40 new cases of adult onset (greater than 15 years of age) acute leukemia is presented. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounted for more than half of all the acute leukemias and represented 75% of the acute leukemias in the 15--25 years. The reasons for this finding remain to be explained. age group. The mean leukocyte count was significantly higher in the ALL group as compared to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients (111.7 x 103 + 26.3 x 103 versus 19.3 x 103 +/- 6.1 x 103, respectively). Thrombocytopenia, anemia and hemorrhagic signs including petechiae, ecchymoses and gum bleeding were more common in the AML group. This study verifies our clinical impression that ALL is more frequent than AML among our adult patients below the age of 25 years. The reasons for this finding remain to be explained.