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Unsolved issues in CLL biology and management

Leukemia volume 17, pages 2385–2391 (2003)Cite this article

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by progressive accumulation of monoclonal B lymphocytes, expressing CD5 and CD23 molecules and characteristic low amounts of surface membrane Ig and CD79b molecules.1 About one-third of patients never require treatment, have a long survival and die of causes unrelated to disease; in another third an initial indolent phase is followed by progression of the disease; the remaining third of patients have aggressive disease at the onset and require early treatment.2

Considerable progress has been recently achieved in the comprehension of the pathogenesis, prognosis assessment and treatment of CLL. However, this progress has also introduced new enigmas in the fields of biology, prognosis and treatment. This update aims to discuss some selected unanswered questions in these different topics.

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Dighiero, G. Unsolved issues in CLL biology and management. Leukemia 17, 2385–2391 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403154

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