Understanding the immunodeficiency in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: potential clinical implications

JC Riches, JG Gribben - Hematology/Oncology Clinics, 2013 - hemonc.theclinics.com
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in adults, with a lifetime
risk of 0.49%. 1 It is characterized by the clonal expansion of CD5+ IgD+/IgM+ B
lymphocytes that accumulate in the peripheral blood (PB), lymph nodes (LNs), bone marrow
(BM), liver, and spleen. Although significant advances have been made in the treatment of
CLL in the last decade, it remains incurable. Combination chemoimmunotherapy with
fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) is now established as the standard of …