Assessment of 285 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia seen at single large tertiary center in Northern India

Abstract

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common lymphoproliferative disorder in the West accounting for about 30% of leukemias, but about 2–4% in India. There is no large series reported from India, and hence we decided to undertake this study. We assessed the clinicohematological profiles and treatment outcomes in 285 patients seen over 11 years at our center (median age 59 years, 209 males). Sixty-three patients (22%) were asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally. The median total leukocyte count at presentation was 50 × 10⁹/L. Rai stage distribution was: stage 0, 10%; stage I, 16%; stage II, 33%; stage III, 20%; and stage IV, 21%. Fifty percent of patients required treatment at presentation. Ninety-six patients received chlorambucil-based (overall response rate [ORR] 69%, complete remission [CR] 3%) and 27 patients received fludarabine-based (ORR 89%, CR 44%) chemotherapy. With a median follow-up of 2.9 years, the median overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were 5.1 and 4.6 years, respectively. Fludarabine was more toxic, as half of the patients developed febrile neutropenia and various infections. The majority of patients presented with advanced stage disease. Fludarabine was less commonly used as first-line therapy. Advanced clinical stage (Rai III and IV) was associated with poor OS (hazard ratio [HR] 2.46, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19–5.11, p = 0.001) and EFS.