How Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Is Diagnosed
In this video, Michal Bar-Natan Zommer, MD, talks about the most common form of leukemia in adults, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and how it’s diagnosed.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) — a cancer of the blood and bone marrow — is the most common form of chronic leukemia in adults. About 20,000 people in the United States will develop CLL this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
Despite its prevalence, many people who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia actually don’t know it, because the disease often doesn’t present with any symptoms. For most cancers that don’t present obvious symptoms, the American Cancer Society recommends routine screening tests, because they are easier to treat it found early. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, however, does not have routine screening tests.
- Michal Bar-Natan Zommer, MDMichal Bar-Natan Zommer, MD, is a hematologist and oncologist at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
References
American Cancer Society. (n.d.). Treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
American Cancer Society. (2018). Can chronic lymphocytic leukemia be caught early?
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. (n.d.). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosis.
UpToDate. (2023). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in adults (beyond the basics).