Prognostic importance of retinopathy in acute leukemia

This prospective study evaluates the relationship, between the fundus findings in leukemic retinopathy and the survival in patients with newly diagnosed acute leukemia. Fifty-four newly diagnosed consecutive patients with acute leukemia were included in this study. The patients were examined within few days of initial admission and diagnosis. Leukemic retinopathy was detected in 19 (35%) patients. The observation period ranged from 434 days to 1220 days (mean +/- SD 880 +/- 225) for those patients who survived. Despite similar chemotherapy compared to those without retinopathy (332.4 +/- 99.6 and 76 vs. 640.7 +/- 106 and 192 days respectively) although survival did not differ significantly (p = 0.073). Patients with cotton-wool spots had lower mean and median survival times than did those without such lesions (168.8 +/- 70.9 and 27 vs. 609.4 +/- 91.4 and 289 days respectively) and survival differed significantly (p = 0.04). The presence of cotton-wool spots and age > or = 40 years were the major adverse prognostic factors for survival in multivariate analysis. Cotton-wool spots had a more significant adverse prognostic effect than age > or = 40 years (hazard function coefficients: 1.0708 for cotton-wool spots vs 0.0355 for age > or = 40 years). The relative odds of dying among patients with cotton-wool spots were about 8 times higher than that for those without this feature, and about 7 times higher in patients aged > or = 40 years than that for patients aged < 20 years. Our findings suggest that the presence of leukemic retinopathy in general, and cotton-wool spots, in particular is a poor prognostic sign for survival in acute leukemia.