Clinical Manifestations of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Background: Acute myeloid leukemias (AML) affect preferentially adults. Clinical manifestations are due to cytopenias and tissue infiltration. Manifestations vary with certain subtypes e.g. bleeding and infections are common with AML-M3, tissue infiltration is more often seen in AML-4 and M5, and bone marrow fibrosis is seen in AML-M7. Objective: To study demographic features and clinical manifestations of acute myeloid leukemia. Patients & Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical sciences, Islamabad from July 2007 to July 2009. All the cases of AML (diagnosed on bone marrow biopsy) belonging to all age groups and both sexes were included in the study. Age at diagnosis, symptoms and clinical findings in AML and its various subtypes were noted. Results were entered on SPSS version 14 for statistical analysis. Results: In a total of 82 cases of AML, 55% were males and 45% females, with mean age of 27.5+19.9 years SD. The most common subtype was AML-M1 (33%) followed by M3 (22%) and M4 (18%), respectively. The common presenting symptoms were pallor, fever and bleeding. Hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and gum hyperplasia were also frequent. Tissue infiltration was the commonest in AML-M5 and M4. Conclusion: Acute myeloid leukemia is the malignancy of adults; it is more common in males and manifestations vary with its subtype