Chronic myeloid leukemia as a secondary neoplasm after anti-cancer radiotherapy: a report of three cases and a brief review of the literature.

Chemotherapy-related acute leukemias or myelodysplasias are well-recognized entities. On the other hand, little is known about the possible occurrence of secondary chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) after radiotherapy, albeit accidental irradiation represents a classical predisposing factor for this disease. We report here three cases of Philadelphia-positive CML appearing one to 25 years after breast or uterine cervix cancer radiotherapy. One patient had also received chemotherapy. Clinical and biological characteristics of these cases did not significantly differ from those of de novo CMLs. A brief review of the literature is made about this possible peculiar entity. Large registries appear warranted to assess the real risk of developing CML after anti-cancer radiotherapy.