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Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL): biology, natural history and clinical management

Leukemia volume 24, pages 512–520 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and the other low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphomas are among the most common lymphoid malignancies. Recent studies suggest that more than 4% of the general population over age 40 harbor a population of clonal B cells with the phenotype of either CLL or another B-cell malignancy, a condition now designated monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL). Although all cases of CLL appear to be preceded by MBL, the majority of individuals with MBL will not develop a hematologic malignancy. The biologic characteristics and clinical implications of MBL appear to differ based on whether it is identified during the diagnostic evaluation of lymphocytosis or incidentally discovered through screening of individuals with normal lymphocyte counts as part of research studies using highly sensitive detection methods. In this paper, we provide a state of the art review on the prevalence, nomenclature, biology, natural history and clinical management of MBL.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI CA 113408; T Shanafelt), Italian Association for Cancer Research — AIRC, Milano, Italy (P Ghia), Leukaemia Research Fund, UK (A Rawstron).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    T D Shanafelt

  2. Division of Molecular Oncology and Lymphoma Unit, Department of Oncology, Laboratory of B Cell Neoplasia, Universita Vita-Salute San Raffaele and Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele, Milano, Italy

    P Ghia

  3. Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    M C Lanasa

  4. Medical Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    O Landgren

  5. Hematological Malignancy Diagnostic Service, St James's Institute of Oncology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Leeds, UK

    A C Rawstron

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  1. T D Shanafelt
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Correspondence to T D Shanafelt.

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Shanafelt, T., Ghia, P., Lanasa, M. et al. Monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL): biology, natural history and clinical management. Leukemia 24, 512–520 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2009.287

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