Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia General Information

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia is considered to be a type of cancer that can affects the blood or the spongy tissue that is located inside the bones, where the stem cells are produced. This tissue is called the bone marrow. Due to the fact that it progresses more slowly than the acute form of leukemia, this disease is also called chronic form of the leukemia. And, due to the fact that it affects the type of white blood cells known as lymphocytes that help fighting against any kind of infection, the disease is called lymphocytic. Generally, the patient’s bone marrow produces immature cells, called stem cells, in a controlled procedure. After the cells mature, they will specialize into several forms of blood cells, depending on the patient affections. When the cells become old, after their natural death, they are replaced by a new group of cells, forming a continuous cycle. In the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, this cycle is affected and the patient’s bone marrow starts to produce abnormal cells. These lymphocytes do not mature enough, nor do they die naturally. As the time passes, the amount of abnormal cell builds up in large numbers and can even interfere with the other healthy blood cells. This is why patients suffering from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia become more vulnerable to any type of infection and many other life threatening conditions. For patients diagnosed with the aggressive form of leukemia, it is recommended to follow a trial, and for other patients, waiting is considered to be the best option.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Symptoms

There are cases in which the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia has no signs or symptoms. But when the patient experiences signs and symptoms in the early stages of the condition, they are mentioned as vague or unspecific. They include weight loss, loss of appetite, lethargy and fatigue, particularly during exercise or night sweats. There are also other typical signs and symptoms that can develop in the more advanced stages of the disease, if it is left untreated. The signs and symptoms appear when the abnormal cells interfere with the functioning, healthy blood cells. Several disorders can develop, and depend on the kind of blood cell that is affected. If the red blood cells are affected, anemia, shortness of breath, tiredness, pale skin and other problems can appear. If the white blood cells are affected, different kinds of infection can easily appear. If the blood platelets, which control the bleeding by making the blood to clot, are affected, easy bleeding or bruising, repeated severe nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums, red marks caused by bleeding into the skin can become more common. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia can also lead to the appearance of medical issues that involve bone pain, joint pain, swelling of the liver or spleen, the enlargement of the lymph nodes inside the neck, underarm, stomach or groin. In some cases, this form of leukemia can become a severe form of lymphoma. Patients suffering of this disorder are exposed to a higher risk of developing many infections. The patient can live with the leukemia for several months (sometimes even several years) without knowing it.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Treatment

There is no available cure for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. But there are some treatments which can improve the patient’s medical status. Due to the fact that some patients can have a slow moving leukemia, which can have no symptoms, the doctors can not know exactly what type of treatment must be applied, and when it is necessary. Some patients suffering from this type of condition might not require any treatment. There are cases in which the patient can have the early stage form of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with symptoms that are not as harmful as the side effects of any treatment applied in this case, so it is highly recommended to wait and watch the progress of the disease. If the patient chooses this option, blood tests and physical exams are frequently taken by the patient’s doctor to help monitor his or her progress. If the patient’s symptoms aggravate, the doctor can prescribe an effective treatment to help relieve them. Each available treatment usually depends on some factors which have to be taken into consideration by the patient’s doctor and can include the age, the patient’s overall health, the stage of the disease and the speed at which the condition is evolving. There are many treatment options that can include chemotherapy, biological therapy, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant or clinical trials and supportive treatments. Chemotherapy is the most used major treatment option for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Chemotherapy consists in several chemical agents who act by killing leukemia cells, but can also kill the healthy cells in the patient’s body.

Chemotherapy drugs can be administered as pills or they can be injected intravenously (IV). The most used chemotherapy drugs for treating this type of leukemia are fludarabine prescribed as Fludara, chlorambucil as Leukeran, pentostatin as Nipent and cyclophosphamide as Cytoxan. Biological therapy, or immunotherapy, consists in using substances to bolster the patient’s immune system, which can resist the cancer. Monoclonal antibodies are the common form of the immunotherapy procedure. These kinds of substances are made in the laboratory, and they are similar to protein products found in the patient’s immune system that attack the antigens on the leukemic cells. Rituximab prescribed as Rituxan and alemtuzumab as Campath are monoclonal antibodies usually given to treat this type of leukemia. These drugs can be used in combination with chemotherapy or applied if chemotherapy is not effective. The bone marrow transplant is a procedure that offers to the patients suffering of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia the opportunity to start producing healthy stem cells by replacing the affected bone marrow with healthy marrow without leukemia. There are cases in which the healthy marrow is donated from a compatible donor. But, there are other cases in which the transplant can be done using the patient's own harvested bone marrow. This type of transplant is used in rare cases as a treatment option for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia because it can be done only for a selected group of patients.