Iraqi Journal of Hematology (Jan 2021)

Impact of clinical staging and demographic data (age and sex) on response to treatment and survival of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

  • Bryar Sabah Rashid,
  • Sana D Jalal,
  • Ahmed K Yassin,
  • Kawa M Hassan,
  • Zeki A Mohamed,
  • Zhala O Ahmed,
  • Tavan I Mahmood,
  • Rawand P Shamoon,
  • Shokhan M Mustafa,
  • Marwa Nadhim Karam,
  • Dana A Abdullah,
  • Shlan S Mohammad,
  • Lara L Abdulrahman,
  • Rozh-hat A Yousif,
  • Basil K Abdulla,
  • Nawsherwan S Mohammed,
  • Hisham A Getta,
  • Ranan K Polus,
  • Ghanim S Numan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/ijh.ijh_11_21
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 2
pp. 102 – 107

Abstract

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BACKGROUND: The clinical course of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is heterogeneous. Certain patients go through a brisk illness progression, and others stay alive for quite a long time without requiring treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of clinical staging, age, gender, and treatment initiation on the survival of CLL patients in Kurdistan-Iraq. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 239 CLL patients from Oncology Centers from Kurdistan-Iraq were enrolled in a retrospective study from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2020. A standardized questionnaire was used to obtain demographics data, presenting features, blood investigations, and imaging results. The diagnosis and treatment assessment was based on the International Workshop of CLL, and clinical staging was performed using both Rai and Binet classifications. There were two groups of patients (watch and wait) and (treated) groups. RESULTS: The median age at the diagnosis was 64 years old with a male: female ratio of 2.3:1. Eighty-three patients (34.7%) were diagnosed incidentally and about one-third of the patients presented with advanced stage, and also, 62.3% of the patients received therapy throughout the study period. The 3-year overall survival was (81.1%) (95% confidence interval 74.3%–87.9%). Of particular interest to report that advanced age, Binet Stage C, and hemoglobin <10 g/dl have adversly impacted the outcome. CONCLUSION: Despite the study limitations, the resulted CLL outcome approximates the Western countries reported figures.

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