Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells and bone marrow. It is characterized by uncontrolled growth of blood cells. Acute leukemia is a rapidly progressing disease that results in the accumulation of immature, functionless cells in the marrow and blood. Chronic leukemia progresses more slowly and permits greater numbers of more mature functional cells to be made.

Although leukemia starts in the bone marrow, it can spread to the blood, lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system (CNS) and other organs.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) affects the B lymphocytes and causes suppression of the immune system, failure of the bone marrow, and infiltration of malignant cells into organs.

CLL occurs in the elderly with 90% of the cases in persons over the age of 50. The cause of CLL is unknown and there are no known risk factors. The symptoms and the course of CLL progresses slowly and about one-half of people with CLL live for 6 years, and 25% live more than 10 years.

Get the Facts... With your MediFocus Guide

The Medifocus Guide on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia provides answers to the following important questions and medical issues:

• What are the most common symptoms of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  
• Are there any recognized risk factors for developing chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  
• What kinds of medical tests are used to establish the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  
• What is the current standard of care for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  
• What treatment options are available for the management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  
• Are there any promising new developments or potential breakthroughs in treatment?
  
• Who are the most notable medical authorities who specialize in chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  
• Where are the leading hospitals and centers of research for chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  
• What are the most important questions to ask my doctor about chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
  

What Your Doctor Reads:

This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:

• Pentostatin (Nipent) and chlorambucil with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor support for patients with previously untreated, treated, and fludarabine-refractory B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
  Seminars in Oncology. 2000
• Apoptosis and the pathogenesis of lymphoma.
  Acta Oncologica. 2000
• Management of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
  Drugs & Aging. 2000
• Stem-cell transplantation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia: the 1999 perspective.
  Annals of Oncology. 2000
• Update on the biology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
  Current Opinion in Oncology. 2000
• Clinical characteristics and outcome of young chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients: a single institution study of 204 cases.
  Blood. 1999
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
  Current Opinion in Hematology. 1999
• Uracil mustard revisited.
  Cancer. 1999
• Untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia concurrent with or followed by acute myelogenous leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. A report of five cases and review of the literature.
  American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 1999
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
  Seminars in Oncology. 1999

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