Characteristics of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in Sudanese Patients

Objective: Our study aimed to characterize clinical, hematological and Immunophenotyping patterns in Sudanese patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Khartoum state, Sudan, during the period from April 2017 to April 2018, involved 110 CLL patients. Physical examination, Complete Blood Count and Immunophenotyping were performed for all patients to confirm the diagnosis. Clinical staging such as Rai and Binet stages were applied. The statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS version 23.0. Results: In this study, 71.8% were males and 28.2% were females. Lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, and anemia were seen in 71%, 49%, 13%, 60.9%, 39% and 34.5% of patients respectively. However, about 90% of patients displayed an advanced Rai risk stage and 70% were at Binet stage B or C. All CLL samples expressed CD45, CD19 and CD20. All the CLL cases were negative for the T-cell marker CD3.CD5 was expressed in 80% patients; CD23 was expressed in 92.7% patients. CD22, CD79b and FMC7 were negative in 91.8%, 77.3%, and 96.4% of patients respectively. Conclusions: CLL in Sudan is a disease of the elderly and more frequently in males than females. The incidence at young patients was higher than those reported by Western studies. Most of our patients presented advanced Rai and Binet stages. CD22 may be a highly specific marker for diagnosing CLL in Sudanese patients and should be included in all diagnostic panels used to differentiate CLL from other B cell lymphoproliferative disorders in Sudan.