Intermittent Colour Vision Loss as the Initial Presentation of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Leukemia encompasses several malignant proliferative disorders, and is characterized by over-crowding of mature or immature neoplastic leukocytes in the bone marrow, with subsequent infiltration of organs, tissues and peripheral blood. Ocular involvement in leukemia may be a result of direct invasion or secondary associated hematologic abnormalities, including hyperviscosity syndrome. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is one such variant which accounts for 15-20% of adult leukemias. Ophthalmologists play a unique role in caring for these patients in that ocular manifestations may rarely be the only presenting sign of this life-threatening condition. We report a case of bilateral intermittent colour vision loss as the presenting symptom of CML.