Ophthalmic Manifestations of Acute Leukemia: A Review

Acute leukemias are the most prevalent neoplastic disorder among children. In these patients the leukemic cells or blasts have replaced normal hematopoietic cells in bone marrow and have spread to different extramedullary sites. Increased survival among leukemic patients in recent decades has led to diagnosing some previously less recognized complications among these patients. One of these morbidities is ophthalmic involvement. The presence of ophthalmic involvement among leukemia patients is associated with poor prognosis. Ophthalmic involvement is more common in patients with AML and in adult patients. Leukemia may involve any ocular tissue such as conjunctiva, sclera, cornea, anterior chamber, iris, lens, vitreous, retina, choroid and optic nerve. In this review, the ocular manifestations of leukemia have been discussed.