Co-occurrence of chronic myeloid leukemia with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a report of two cases

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have a higher risk of developing second primary solid tumor malignancies [1,2]. In addition to solid neoplasms, there is an increased incidence of hematological malignancies such as myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia, and are thought to be treatment-related [3–5]. Though rare, cases of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have been reported in coexistence with CLL with just over 20 cases so far reported in the literature. In a majority of these cases, the diagnosis of CLL preceded the CML diagnosis. In rare cases, CML occurred prior to or simultaneously with CLL development [6–10]. There is no consensus on the best treatment approach for these patients. In this report, we describe two patients with coexisting CLL and CML and discuss the management of both conditions in the era of targeted therapies.