Objective: To determine the presenting features and evolution of patients diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia between 1983 and 1999 at the University Hospital of the West Indies.
Methods: Forty-one records were retrospectively analyzed for the patients' demographics, reasons for referral, clinical features, laboratory investigations and the time to blast transformation and death.
Results: Seventy-one per cent were males and 29% were females. The male to female ratio was 2.4:1. The median age at presentation was 37 years (range 14-81 years). Seventy-eight per cent of the patients presented in the chronic phase. Weight loss and splenomegaly were the most frequent presenting features being seen in 54 and 83 per cent respectively. The median survival was 36 months.
Conclusion: In this study, the clinical features and evolution were comparable to existing data. Improved accrual and routine Philadelphia chromosome testing would provide a more accurate reflection of the status of CML in our population.