- Based on the genetic changes and increased numbers of AML cells, the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified AML into the four main groups in Table 3. The incidence in AML patients is also included.
Table 3 Classification of AML
| AML group | Incidence in patients |
| AML, with genetic abnormalities | 50% |
| AML, with myelodysplasia-related changes | 30% |
| AML, after prior treatment with chemotherapy | 10% |
| AML, not otherwise specified | 15% |
- Myelodysplasia is a group of blood cancers where the blood cells are immature and abnormal. In myelodysplasia, the bone marrow doesn’t make enough blood cells.
- The group AML, not otherwise specified includes all the cases of AML that do not fit into the other groups. These are shown in Table 4.
Table 4 Classification of AML, not otherwise specified
| WHO classification |
| AML with minimal differentiation |
| AML without maturation |
| AML with maturation |
| Acute myelomonocytic leukaemia |
| Acute monoblastic/monocytic leukaemia |
| Acute erythroid leukaemia |
| Acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia |
| Acute basophilic leukaemia |
| Acute panmyelosis with fibrosis |
- The difference between the various types of leukaemia included in AML, not otherwise specified is complex. It is detailed in the WHO book of Classification Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues.
