How are chronic lymphocytic leukemias treated?

How are chronic lymphocytic leukemias treated?

Noam Z. Drazin (Hematologist & Oncologist, Cedars-Sinai Medical Group) gives expert video advice on: Can my leukemia be treated with surgery?; Can leukemia be treated with a bone marrow transplant?; How can I keep my leukemia from coming back? and more...

The treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia depends on where we are in the spectrum of disease. CLL (which is chronic lymphoid leukaemia) is in the same spectrum as small lymphocytic lymphoma or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We sometimes differentiate the treatment depending on where we are on that spectrum of disease. Chronic lymphoid leukaemia has a certain staging system, and we only really start any type of therapy when there is a degree of staging above three or four. However, if we're on the spectrum of disease that's closer to a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or small lymphocytic lymphoma then we're more likely to initiate therapy when patients have difficulty related to lymph node enlargements and masses that tend to bother them. Ultimately, chronic leukaemias are not a curable disease.