Leukemia (CLL): Symptoms & Diagnosis
Leukemia (CLL)
Symptoms & Diagnosis
A significant part of CLL diagnosis is determining a few critical features which will drive your treatment choices.
Symptoms & Diagnosis: Finding CLL
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia
CLL usually affects older people. The average age at diagnosis is about 70 years old. It is rare for CLL to occur in people under age 40, and it is even more rare in children. Because it is a disease that develops slowly, many people live for years without symptoms. That’s is also why it is hard to screen for CLL, and doctors have to use a variety of blood tests to confirm diagnosis.
Symptoms & Diagnosis: What Happens Next?
Whether you require treatment for CLL will depend on your blood count, and how quickly the disease is growing. In this series, leading doctors explain how they monitor CLL and the different types of blood cancer.
Understanding Leukemia
Whether you require treatment for CLL will depend on your blood count, and how quickly the disease is growing. In this series, leading doctors explain how they monitor CLL and the different types of blood cancer.
A patient’s IGHV mutation status is a key factor in CLL prognosis. Doctors looking for a patient’s IGHV mutation status are looking at the age of the cell that allowed CLL to grow.
IGHV Mutation Status
A patient's IGHV mutation status is a key factor in CLL prognosis. Doctors looking for a patient's IGHV mutation status are looking at the age of the cell that allowed CLL to grow. If it is a younger, unmutated cell, it will likely be more aggressive. If it is an older, mutated cell, those tend to be slow-growing. This information helps doctors determine which type of treatment to use. Typically,... Read More