What happens if chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) goes untreated?
If CML is left untreated, it will progress from the chronic phase to more advanced and aggressive phases of the disease. Without treatment, CML typically advances to the blast phase within three to four years after diagnosis.
The disease progresses through Show Full Answer
What happens if chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) goes untreated?
If CML is left untreated, it will progress from the chronic phase to more advanced and aggressive phases of the disease. Without treatment, CML typically advances to the blast phase within three to four years after diagnosis.
The disease progresses through three phases:
- Chronic phase: The initial, slower-growing stage
- Accelerated phase: An intermediate stage with worsening symptoms
- Blast phase (blast crisis): The most aggressive form that's much harder to treat
As CML advances, the ratio of cancer cells to healthy cells in your bone marrow and blood increases. The accelerated and blast phases are more difficult to manage and come with worse outcomes than chronic phase CML.
The good news is that modern treatments, particularly tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), can keep CML under control for many years when started early. Each year, only 1 to 1.5 percent of people with chronic phase CML being treated with TKIs progress to a more advanced stage.
It's important to work with your healthcare team to start and maintain treatment, as this gives you the best chance of keeping CML in the chronic phase and maintaining a good quality of life.
February 25
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