Thrombocytosis in chronic granulocytic leukemia: incidence and clinical significance.

The clinical significance of an elevated cations. None were fatal, and all occurred platelet count in the course of chronic in the group with counts over a 1 x 1 0’/cu granulocytic leukemia was studied in a mm. The occurrence of thrombocytosis as group of 111 previously untreated paa new observation in the face of previous tients, whose entire course was evaluated normal counts (15 patients) was associby one clinic. Seventy-one patients (64%) ated with frank blastic crisis (six cases) developed a platelet count >450,000/cu or heralded its onset with a median duramm either at diagnosis (56 patients) or tion of 8 mo (nine cases). Thrombocytosis in the subsequent course (15 patients). per se was associated with a shorter surTwenty-nine of the 71 patients had counts vival (median 36 mo) as opposed to 45 in excess of 1 x 10’/cu mm. Four patients mo in the group (40 cases) whose count had serious thrombohemorrhagic compliwas never elevated.