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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a slow-progressing cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, with symptoms including swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, and weight loss. It is diagnosed through a blood test or bone marrow biopsy and can be treated with chemotherapy or medication. It is more common in women and Caucasians over the age of 50.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, is a cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, the spongy substance inside the bones that makes blood cells. It is termed a chronic condition due to the slow progression of the disease. It may take years for a person to progress from the first stage of cancer to one of the later stages. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia affects the lymphatic system, mutating infection-fighting white blood cells in the body.
There are over 300,000 cases of leukemia worldwide, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia is responsible for the majority of these cases. About 15,000 people in the United States alone are diagnosed with CLL each year, most of them elderly. Very few children develop this type of leukemia. Symptoms can be easy to miss and may initially be passed off as a prolonged cold or signs of aging. Symptoms of chronic lymphocytic leukemia include swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Because of impaired white blood cell counts, which suppresses a person’s immunity, people with CLL also get sick easily.
Doctors aren’t sure what causes the genetic mutations that cause CLL to start, but they do know that it’s these genetic mutations that cause the disease to progress. Lymphocyte white blood cells normally have a limited life span. When they die, an equal number of new white blood cells are created. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia changes the life span of white blood cells, significantly lengthening it. Without blood cells dying, the body quickly builds up a surplus. These extra cells collect in the bloodstream and major organs and start causing problems by crowding the healthy blood cells.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is diagnosed through a simple blood test that allows doctors to detect the number of cells in the blood. Doctors look for a high number of mutated white blood cells and a low number of healthy white blood cells. CLL can also be diagnosed through a bone marrow biopsy. After CLL is diagnosed, doctors will determine how advanced the cancer is.
If the cancer is in an early stage, your doctor probably won’t recommend any treatment. Only one in three patients with early stage CLL will progress to the point where they require treatment, and early treatment does little to change the progression of the cancer. The later stages of cancer can be treated through chemotherapy and prescribed medications. Some patients may attempt drug trials and others have successfully treated CLL with bone marrow stem cell transplants.
Although CLL can affect anyone, most people diagnosed with it are over the age of 50. Women are more likely to get the disease than men, and Caucasians are more likely to be diagnosed than individuals of other races. CLL is treatable, but it can increase the risk of developing other cancers. CLL is not usually fatal, but the associated reduced immunity can last, causing later complications, especially in older patients.
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