Table 2.
Overview of literature
| Number of articles | 89 | |
| Number of individual cases | 170 | |
| Sex, n (%) | Male | 74 (59.7%) |
| Female | 50 (40.3%) | |
| Not reported | 46 | |
| Mean age | 64.5 years | |
| Mean time interval from diagnosis of CLL to neurological symptoms | 32.3 months | |
| Most common neurological symptomsa, allocated to CNS localisation of CLL, n (% of 125 patients with known symptoms) | Symptoms unknown | 45 |
| No symptoms | 2 (1.6%) | |
| Symptoms attributed to cranial nerve palsy (any) | 64 (51.2%) | |
| - Diplopia (N. III/IV/VI) | 22 (17.6%) | |
| - Impaired vision (N. II) | 22 (17.6%) | |
| - Facial palsy (N. VII) | 11 (8.8%) | |
| - Impaired hearing | 7 (5.6%) | |
| - Impaired visual field | 7 (5.6%) | |
| - Dysarthria (N. V/VII/IX/X/XII) | 6 (4.8%) | |
| - Other | 11 (8.8%) | |
| Headache | 30 (24.0%) | |
| Altered mental state | 19 (15.2%) | |
| Cognitive decline | 16 (12.8%) | |
| Limb paralysis/paresis | 15 (12.0%) | |
| Impaired coordination of extremities | 15 (12.0%) | |
| Dizziness/vertigo | 9 (7.2%) | |
| Radiculopathy | 8 (6.4%) | |
| Other symptoms | 81 (68.1.%) | |
| Localisation of CLL, n (% of 120 patients with known localisation) | Localisation unknown | 50 |
| Leptomeningeal | 66 (55.0%) | |
| Cerebral hemisphere | 20 (16.7%) | |
| Multiple sites | 11 (9.2%) | |
| Spinal cord or roots | 9 (7.5%) | |
| 1 specific cranial nerve | 7 (5.8%) | |
| Hypophysis/pituitary gland | 3 (2.5%) | |
| Cerebellum | 2 (1.7%) | |
| Dural | 1 (0.8%) | |
| Brain stem | 1 (0.8%) | |
| Method of diagnosisb, n (% of 152 patients with known method of diagnosis) | Method of diagnosis unknown | 18 |
| CSF | 118 (77. 6%) | |
| MRI brain or spinal cord | 52 (34.2%) | |
| Biopsy | 30 (19.7%) | |
| Obduction | 13 (8.6%) | |
| CT brain | 11 (7.2%) | |
CLL chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, CNS central nervous system, CSF cerebrospinal fluid, MRI magnetic resonance imaging, CT computed tomography
aMultiple symptoms may be present in one patient
bMultiple methods may have been used in one patient