Findings at Diagnosis in the Most Common Leukemias
Feature | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Peak age of incidence | Childhood | Any age | Middle and old age | Adulthood |
White blood cell count | High in 50% Normal or low in 50% | High in 60% Normal or low in 40% | High in 98% Normal or low in 2% | High in 100% |
Differential white blood cell count | Many lymphoblasts | Many myeloblasts | Small lymphocytes | Entire myeloid series |
Anemia | Severe in > 90% | Severe in > 90% | Mild in about 50% | Mild in 80% |
Platelets | Low in > 80% | Low in > 90% | Low in 20 to 30% | High in 60% Low in 10% |
Lymphadenopathy | Common | Occasional | Common | Infrequent |
Splenomegaly | In 60% | In 50% | Usual and moderate | Usual and severe |
Other features | Without prophylaxis, central nervous system commonly involved | Central nervous system rarely involved Sometimes Auer rods in myeloblasts | Occasionally hemolytic anemia and hypogammaglobulinemia | Low leukocyte alkaline phosphatase level Philadelphia chromosome–positive in > 90% |