Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Other Lymphoproliferative Disorders

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia affects less than 1% of US adults but is the most common leukemia and primarily affects older patients. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas are the seventh most common cancers in the United States and also primarily affect older patients. In general, older patients should be treated differently than their younger, fitter counterparts. Fitness level and comorbidities should be taken into account when planning treatment. First-line treatment of most of these B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders consists of chemoimmunotherapy. In relapsed and refractory disease, there is a growing role for therapies targeting the B-cell receptor signaling pathway.