CML is not staged like other cancers, but rather is broken down into three phases: chronic, accelerated, and blast.
The phases are identified by the number of immature white blood cells (called blasts) that are present in the blood stream. This is also a sign of how aggressive the disease is at that point.
Chronic phase is defined as less than 10% blast cells in the blood and is the least aggressive of the phases.
Accelerated phase is defined as 10-19% blast cells in the blood.
Blast phase is defined as 20% or more blast cells seen in the blood and is the most aggressive phase of the disease.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
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