Chronic lymphatic leukemia terminating in acute myeloid leukemia: review of the literature.

A case of acute myeloid leukemia supervening upon a long-standing stable chronic lymphatic leukemia (CLL) diagnosed ten years earlier, is described. Thirty-three cases of acute leukemia terminating CLL were reported. All but three were treated prior to the emergence of the acute leukemia. The question of whether acute leukemia and other malignancies are more frequent in CLL is still controversial. The literature is reviewed.