Extramedullary chronic phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) involving the central nervous system: A case report

Abstract

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) has been classically described as a disease restricted to the bone marrow with very few reports of extramedullary involvement. CNS involvement with CML has been described in the literature as an aggressive disease in the leukaemic phase either preceding or coexisting with medullary blast crisis or seen in patients with long-term Imatinib therapy. No treatment consensus exists for this patient group and outcomes remain poor. We hereby present a very rare report of CNS involvement with chronic phase CML at diagnosis in a patient who presented with raised intracranial pressure and cranial nerve palsies.