What the 'Ordinary Folks' are Reading About CLL

[Guest guest]

[From ivillage on CLL. One quote is, " Bone marrow transplants are

high-dose chemotherapy with support

with stem cells has not really been that useful (for CLL) "

This is a quote I certainly don't agree with, but it's from the

following interview on CLL: ]

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: What Patients Should Know

Summary & Participants

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL accounts for 25% of all leukemias

in the U.S., most common in adults over 50. It affects certain white

blood cells called lymphocytes with serious consequences for the

body's immune system.

Authors:

Hainsworth, MD

Cannon Cancer Center

Video Host:

ann Bird,

Nashville, TN

Medically Reviewed On: Friday, October 05, 2001

Webcast Transcript

MARYANN BIRD: Welcome to our webcast. I'm ann Bird. Chronic

lymphocytic leukemia or CLL accounts for 25% of all leukemias in the

U.S., most common in adults over 50. It affects certain white blood

cells called lymphocytes with serious consequences for the body's

immune system.

Joining me to discuss CLL and how it's treated is Dr. Hainsworth

of the Cannon Cancer Center here in Nashville. Dr. Hainsworth,

thank you for joining us.

Doctor, what is chronic lymphocytic leukemia?

JOHN D. HAINSWORTH, MD: CLL is one kind of leukemia that's actually

the most common adult leukemia in this country. It is different than

the other leukemias in that it really is a chronic disease. Patients

can live for quite awhile. It's a malignancy of lymphocytes of a

certain type of lymphocyte called a " B " lymphocyte. And these cells

are normally in the human body to fight infection. They're the cells

that produce antibodies against infection.

MARYANN BIRD: How does CLL differ from other blood cancers like

chronic myeloid leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma?

JOHN D. HAINSWORTH, MD: In general, these different hematologic

cancers are derived from different cells.

MARYANN BIRD: What causes CLL? Do we know?

JOHN D. HAINSWORTH, MD: We don't know what causes it. It's a disease

that happens more frequently with increasing age. This is the only

leukemia that's actually the most common in elderly patients. It's

uncommon in patients younger than 50 years old.

MARYANN BIRD: What exactly happens when patients get CLL?

JOHN D. HAINSWORTH, MD: CLL, like any kind of cancer, involves a

proliferation -- an abnormal proliferation of the cell that's the

cancer cell. But in general, the big problems in this kind of cancer

come when the bone marrow gets too full of these lymphocytes, and

they start to affect the bone marrow's ability to do its normal

functions, which are to produce other blood cells.

MARYANN BIRD: What are the signs or symptoms of this disease?

Read the rest at:

http://ivillagehealth.healthology.com/cancer/video1872.htm?pg=1