ABSTRACT
The term 'myeloproliferative neoplasm' has been introduced by the panel of experts convened by the World Health Organization to classify tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid systems. Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is the most common subtype. The risk of developing CML is slightly but significantly increased by exposure to high doses of ionizing radiation, such as what happened to survivors of the atomic bombs exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. For all patients with CML, national and international treatment guidelines recommend monitoring response to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors by testing the breakpoint cluster region-Abelson murine leukaemia1 transcript levels using standardised techniques and the international scale for reporting. This minimises variability among laboratories, and reduces the risk of misinterpretation of results. Immunotherapy has of course been used successfully in patients with CML, not only in the allogeneic stem cell transplantation setting, but also with interferons.
