Cytogenetic observations in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) correlations of the cytogenetic findings with morphological cytochemical features of blast cells in various types of blastic phase.

Forty-nine cases of chronic myeloid leukemia have been investigated using cytogenic methods. Twenty-six patients were studied in chronic phase, twenty-three during the transformation of the disease. Out of the second group of the patients, nine were myeloid, five myelomonocytic, two promyelocytic, two megakaryoblastic and five lymphoid in their morphological and cytochemical appearance. Some correlation could be observed between the clinical, morphological, cytological and cytogenetic findings of different subgroups of the blastic phase in CML. The results demonstrate the divergent clonal evolution of transformed blast cells, and emphasize the importance of chromosome investigations -- in addition to the early diagnosis of metamorphosis -- in distinguishing the different subgroups of the terminal stage of CML.