Leukemia

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Signs and Symptoms

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disorder in which the lymphocytes lose their normal ability to die and end up accumulating over time. At first, the cells increase only in the blood, but over years they also increase in the lymph nodes, liver, spleen and bone marrow.

Many patients have no symptoms at the time of diagnosis, except for an elevated white blood cell count. Some patients will notice fatigue or enlargement of lymph nodes or fullness in the abdomen due to an enlarged spleen.

When CLL becomes more advanced and begins to replace normal bone marrow, low blood counts can result in anemia and infections. CLL increases a person's risk of infection because of low production of antibodies (gamma globulins) that help fight bacteria. In 5 percent to 10 percent of cases, CLL causes the destruction of the patient's own red blood cells and/or platelets through an "autoimmune" process. Destruction of platelets is called immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and destruction of red blood cells is called autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AHA).

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated May 8, 2007