Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Abstract

Chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1+ (CML), is a myeloproliferative neoplasm defined by the presence of the BCR-ABL fusion gene produced by the t(9;22) (q32;q11) cytogenetic abnormality. CML manifests clinically as leukocytosis with circulating immature granulocytic precursors and splenomegaly. When untreated, its natural history is that of inexorable progression to an acute leukemia (blast crisis) after a prolonged chronic phase. The recent development of inhibitors of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase activity have dramatically altered the clinical course of CML, with long-term remissions in most patients treated early in the course of disease.