Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)

Background

Chronic myelogenous (or myeloid) leukemia (CML), also known as chronic granulocytic leukemia (CGL), is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of predominantly myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulation of these cells in the blood. CML is a clonal bone marrow stem cell disorder, in which proliferation of mature granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils) and their precursors is the main finding. CML was the first malignancy to be linked to a clear genetic abnormality — the chromosomal translocation known as the Philadelphia chromosome.