Studies on the morphology of leukaemic blast cells in relation to haematological parameters.

A combination of haematological parameters with morphological evaluation of peripheral blood and bone marrow blast cells is crucial for leukaemia diagnosis. FAB (French- American-British) classification is a simple and powerful diagnostic tool for leukaemia in developing countries like India. Differentiation block in the early stages of haematopoiesis and morphological characteristics of leukemic blast cells are directly related to haematological parameters. The present study is an approach to increase understanding of the simple morphological FAB classification of leukaemia in relation to haematological parameters. The present study revealed that Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) was the most common type of leukaemia, followed by Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, Acute Lymphoid Leukaemia (ALL), and Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia (CLL) in Nagpur. Most of the cases of Acute Leukaemia had severe anaemia and thrombocytopenia. Highest variation was found in Total WBCs count of different types of leukaemia, particularly in different subtypes of AML. The present study also suggested that FAB classification is not outdated, but it does require continuous revalidation and other procedures for refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]