[National guidelines for the management of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Sociedad Espan˜ola de Hematologi´a y Hemoterapia and Grupo Espan˜ol de Leucemia Linfoci´tica Cro´ nica]. / Guía de consenso nacionales para el estudio y tratamiento de los pacientes con leucemia linfocítica crónica. Sociedad Espan˜ola de Hematologi´a y Hemoterapia y por el Grupo Espan˜ol de Leucemia Linfoci´tica Cro´ nica.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is the most common chronic lymphoproliferative disorder in Spain. The clinical management of this entity varies widely. Currently, in Spain, there are no national consensus guidelines, such as those published in other countries, to guide the diagnosis and treatment of this malignancy and the use of prognostic scores. This article reviews the current scientific literature and addresses issues on the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the spread of the disease, the presence of comorbidities, the classification of prognostic scores, the common treatment regimens stratified by risk factors, and the management of complications associated with both the disease and its treatment, as well as the various controversies related to this entity. This document was drafted with the collaboration of national experts and aims to establish practical guidelines with their corresponding levels of evidence and grades of recommendation to guide the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Incidence and characteristics of myelodysplastic syndromes in Ourense (Spain) between 1994-1998.

The very few reference epidemiological studies on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have been carried out in Europe: Germany, France, UK and Sweden. We present the first Spanish study on the incidence and characteristics of MDS. The incidence rates, distribution by FAB subtypes, sex and age groups are within the ranges established by the reference studies with minimal differences which we point out and attempt to explain.