Critical discussion of the assessment of a three-stage prognostic classification for chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Abstract

A study of the prognosis of two series of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients (99 from a retrospective series and 196 from a prospective series) has led us to propose a three-stage classification (A, B, C), requiring only a clinical examination and a haemogram. For stage A patients (comprising 50% of the CLL patients), survival rates are similar to those in the French general population of the same age and sex; median survival time is six years for stage B patients (comprising 35% of CLL) and two years for stage C patients (comprising 15%). Several methodological difficulties were encountered with the data and the statistical strategy, and these are discussed. The staging system has been justified, since the results have now been confirmed in four other series, totalling 611 CLL patients.