Volume 203, Issue 3 pp. 404-410
ORIGINAL PAPER

Demographic and clinical characteristics of acute myeloid leukaemia diagnosed and treated at the tertiary level in Afghanistan

Sarah Noor

Sarah Noor

Department of Haemato-Oncology, Jamhuriat Hospital, Kabul, Afghanistan

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Ahmed Maseh Haidary

Corresponding Author

Ahmed Maseh Haidary

Department of Pathology, French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC), Kabul, Afghanistan

Correspondence

Ahmed Maseh Haidary, Department of Pathology and Clinical Laboratory, French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC), Kabul, Afghanistan.

Email: [email protected]

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Ahmad Walid Yosufzai

Ahmad Walid Yosufzai

Department of Haemato-Oncology, Jamhuriat Hospital, Kabul, Afghanistan

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Mirajan Niazai

Mirajan Niazai

Department of Haemato-Oncology, Jamhuriat Hospital, Kabul, Afghanistan

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Sahar Noor

Sahar Noor

Department of Paediatric Medicine, French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC), Kabul, Afghanistan

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Najla Nasir

Najla Nasir

Department of Medicine, Rabia Balkhi Women's Hospital, Kabul, Afghanistan

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Ayub Shinwari

Ayub Shinwari

Department of Haemato-Oncology, Jamhuriat Hospital, Kabul, Afghanistan

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Ramin Saadaat

Ramin Saadaat

Department of Pathology, French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC), Kabul, Afghanistan

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First published: 23 August 2023
Citations: 1

Summary

A retrospective case series design was conducted to elucidate the demographic features of acute myeloid leukaemia in Afghanistan. This study was conducted at Jamhuriat Hospital and French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children, Kabul, Afghanistan. A total of 203 patients with AML diagnosed and managed at Jamhuriat Hospital from 1 March 2018 to 31 March 2020, were included in the current study. The median age at diagnosis was 27 years. Housewives represented the largest subset of patients from an occupational point of view constituting 37.44% of the total sample population and 81.72% of the female population, followed by 20.69% patients who were students of which 14.77% were male and 5.91% were female, and 17.24% were farmers, which constituted 31.81% of the male population. Similarly, 69.95% of individuals presented with infection, 57.14% presented with bone tenderness, 46.3% presented with bleeding tendencies, 55.66% had hepatomegaly and/or splenomegaly, and 27.58% of patients had lymphadenopathy. Considering the chemotherapeutic regime, 64.53% of the individuals received standard 7 + 3 (cytarabine + daunorubicin) induction regimen, 10.68% of those received 5 + 2 re-induction chemotherapy (cytarabine + daunorubicin). 10.84% who were diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia received all-trans-retinoic acid + arsenic trioxide, while 5.42% of patients defaulted chemotherapy. High prevalence was noted in young individuals. Similarly, a high proportion of patients were constituted by housewives.

Graphical Abstract

The median age at diagnosis was 27 years. Housewives represented the largest subset of patients from an occupational point of view constituting 37.44% of the total sample population and 81.72% of the female population, followed by 20.69% patients who were students of which 14.77% were male and 5.91% were female, and 17.24% who were farmers, which constituted 31.81% of the male population. Similarly, 64.53% of the individuals received standard 7 + 3 induction regimen, 10.68% of those received 5 + 2 re-induction chemotherapy, 10.84% who were diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia received all-trans-retinoic acid + arsenic trioxide, while 5.42% of patients defaulted chemotherapy.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare to have no competing interests.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

All generated data is included in this article.

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