How is CML “staged”?
CML is not staged like other cancers, but rather is broken down into three phases: chronic, accelerated, and blast. The phases are identified by the number of immature white blood cells (called blasts) that are present in the blood stream. This is also a sign of how aggressive the disease is at that point. Chronic phase is defined as less than 10% blast cells in the blood and is the least aggressive of the phases, accelerated phase is defined as 10-19% blast cells in the blood and blast phase is defined as 20% or more blast cells seen in the blood and is the most aggressive phase of the disease.
