[Treatment of hairy cell leukemia]

Hairy cell leukemia is a rare leukemic variant with a relatively good prognosis. Treatment is indicated when the patient develops symptoms caused by cytopenia. When the spleen is palpable, the primary treatment should be splenectomy. When the spleen is not palpable and/or if the patient relapses after splenectomy, treatment with Alfa-Interferon is indicated. The place of deoxycoformycin in the treatment of hairy cell leukemia has not yet been established.