[Acute leukemia and primary Vaquez' polycythemia. 20 cases]

The authors report the clinical and hematological course of 20 patients with polycythemia vera complicated by acute leukemia. This was responsible for 35,8% of the 53 deaths in the series of 103 patients treated with radioactive phosphorus. It occurred on average 12 years after the first treatment. The data in these cases are compared with those in the literature. The role of ionising radiation and/or the myelo-proliferative syndrome itself in the onset of acute leukemia is discussed.