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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Immunoglobulin Gene Sequence Analysis In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: From Patient Material To Sequence Interpretation
Published on: November 26, 2018
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia in India--a clinico-hematological profile
Neerja Agrawal1, Rahul Naithani, M Mahapatra
1Department of Hematology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Insights
This study on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 95 patients found that chlorambucil treatment led to stable disease in most, with a median survival of 4 years. Outcomes were slightly better in younger patients.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Oncology
Background:
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent leukemia in the elderly population.
- Understanding the clinico-hematological profile and treatment outcomes is crucial for managing CLL patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the clinico-hematological profile of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients.
- To evaluate the treatment outcomes in CLL patients over an 11-year period.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective case record analysis of 95 CLL patients over 11 years.
- Categorization of patients into young (≤55 years) and elder (>55 years) groups.
- Analysis of presenting symptoms, hematological parameters, bone marrow involvement, treatment received (chlorambucil), and survival data.
Main Results:
- A median age of 61 years, with 65 patients older than 55.
- Common symptoms included weakness and pallor; lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly were frequent.
- Chlorambucil treatment resulted in stable disease for 46 patients, partial response in 6, and a median survival of 4 years, with younger patients showing longer survival.
Conclusions:
- Chlorambucil is a common treatment for CLL, often leading to stable disease rather than complete response.
- Younger CLL patients demonstrated a trend towards better survival duration compared to older patients.
- Further research into novel therapeutic strategies is warranted to improve complete response rates and long-term outcomes in CLL.
Abstract:
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common form of leukemia in elderly people. The clinico-hematological profile and treatment outcome of patients with CLL were assessed using retrospective case record analysis over 11 years. There were 95 (75 males: 20 females) patients with a median age of 61 years. Thirty patients were aged 55 years or less (young CLL patients) and 65 were more than 55 years of age (elder CLL patients). Sixty percent patients had non-specific complaints, such as weakness, cough and indigestion. Twenty-six (27%) patients had pallor and 24 (25%) had fever as initial presenting manifestation. Bleeding manifestations were seen in 7 patients. Seven patients were diagnosed incidentally. Lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly and hepatomegaly were seen in 52 (55%), 63 (66%) and 60 (63%) patients, respectively. The median white blood cell count and absolute lymphocyte counts were 70,600 and 51,490/mul, respectively. Three patients had autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Twenty-five patients (26%) had anemia with hemoglobin < 11 g/dl and thrombocytopenia with platelet count 100 x 10(3)/mm(3) was seen in 17 (18%). Interstitial nodular, mixed and diffuse bone marrow (BM) involvement was seen in 10.2, 67.3, 6.1 and 16.3% cases, respectively. Eighteen (60%) young patients and 35 (54%) older patients required treatment with chlorambucil. The mean time from initial diagnosis to treatment was 4.6 +/- 10.7 months. None of our patient attained complete response. Six patients obtained partial response. Median duration of chlorambucil was 7 months (1-86 months). Forty-six patients had stable disease. Three patients died. Median survival of study group was 4 years (8 months-13 years). In older CLL it was 4 years (8 months-11 years) and in young patients, survival duration was 5.5 years (1-13 years).
