Prognostic value of nucleoli and cell size in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

In an effort to improve prediction of duration of survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, correlations between blood-cell morphology and survival were investigated. Blood films made on 108 patients at the time of diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia were reviewed by a single hematologist. Lymphocyte diameter and the fraction of lymphocytes containing nucleoli were both found to have an inverse correlation with survival. Bone-marrow aspirate films were available for 64 patients. Differential leukocyte counts showed that the median for marrow lymphocytes was 64%. Those patients with a greater than median proportion of lymphocytes on marrow aspirate had a shorter survival time than those with less than median.