Epidemiological and Cytological Profile of Acute Myeloid Leukemias: A Five-Year Retrospective Study at the Hematology Laboratory of Mohammed V Military Hospital, Rabat, Morocco

Background: Acute leukemias are characterized by malignant proliferation of hematopoietic precursor cells (blasts), arrested at specific differentiation stages and present in bone marrow, peripheral blood, and sometimes other tissues. Advances in diagnostic techniques over the past decades have enabled better distinction between myeloid and lymphoid acute leukemias.  Objective: To describe the epidemiological and cytological features of acute myeloid leukemias (AML) diagnosed at the Hematology Laboratory of Mohammed V Military Hospital in Rabat over a 5-year period (2017–2022).  Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with AML between January 1, 2017 and May 30, 2022. Patients with incomplete records were excluded. Epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory data (complete blood counts, bone marrow cytology, cytochemical staining) were collected from laboratory information systems. The diagnosis of AML was based on ≥ 20% blasts in bone marrow (WHO 2008 criteria). Cytochemical myeloperoxidase (MPO) testing was performed when myeloid morphology was unclear.  Results: A total of 126 AML cases were included. The sex ratio (male/female) was 1.86. Two incidence peaks were observed: 10– 20 years and 40–70 years. The most frequent cytological subtypes were AML-M2 (22 %) and AML-M4 (17 %). Among MPO+ AML cases: 70 % were unclassified MPO+, 9 % showed Auer bodies, 6 % had AML-M4 features, etc. Hemogram anomalies included: anemia in 91 %, thrombocytopenia in 73 %, neutropenia in 37 %, hyperleukocytosis in 14 %, pancytopenia in 27 %.  Conclusion: AML in this Moroccan cohort display a bimodal age distribution and diverse cytological patterns dominated by MPO+ uncharacterized forms. The high prevalence of cytopenias underlines the severity of disease presentation. Further national registries and molecular studies are warranted to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic capacity.