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Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) - Symptom

Alternative Names

CLL; Leukemia - chronic lymphocytic (CLL)

Symptoms:

Symptoms usually develop slowly over time. Many cases of CLL are detected by blood tests done in people for other reasons or who do not have any symptoms.

Symptoms that can occur include:

Signs and tests:

Patients with CLL usually have a higher-than-normal white blood cell count.

Tests to diagnose and assess CLL include:

  • Complete blood count (CBC) with white blood cell differential
  • Bone marrow biopsy
  • CT scan of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis
  • Immunoglobulin testing
  • Lactate dehydrogenase test

If your doctor discovers you have CLL, tests will be done to see how much the cancer has spread. This is called staging.

There are two systems used to stage CLL:

  • The Rai system uses numbers 0 to IV to group CLL into low-, intermediate-, and high-risk categories. Generally, the higher the stage number, the more advanced the cancer.
  • The Binet system uses letters A-C to stage CLL according to how many lymph node groups are involved and whether you have a drop in the number of red blood cells or platelets.

Some newer tests look at the chromosomes inside the cancer cells. The results can help your doctor better determine your treatment.

  • Reviewed last on: 3/28/2011
  • David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Kantarjian H, O'Brien S. The chronic leukemias. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Textbook of Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 195.

Grever M, Andritsos LA, Lozanski G. Chronic lymphoid leukemia. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKenna WG, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 108.

National Comprehensive Cancer Network. National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas. 2011. Version 1.2011.

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