Italian study ~ B-cell count still the gold standard at diagnosis

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A study of 818 CLL patients, provides a clear justification to retain the

B-cell count as the reference gold standard of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

diagnosis and imply that a count of 10x109/L B cells is the best lymphocyte

threshold to predict time to first treatment.

The use of clinical outcome to distinguish chronic lymphocytic leukemia from

other premalignant conditions, such as monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, is a

pragmatic approach meeting the patients' need to minimize the psychological

discomfort of receiving a diagnosis of leukemia when the risk of adverse

clinical consequences is low.

Source:DOI: 10.3324/haematol.2010.030189

PDF LINK:http://www.haematologica.org/cgi/reprint/haematol.2010.030189v1.pdf

~chris

CLL CANADA