Chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosis

Chronic leukemia includes at least four disease types chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), pro-lymphocytic leukemia, and hairy cell leukemia. It differs from acute leukemia in that its clinical course is indolent. Most patients with chronic leukemia survive for several years after their initial diagnosis, even without treatment. Conversely, most patients with acute leukemia die of their disease within weeks to months after diagnosis if not treated. Because CML and CLL occur more frequently and represent approximately 40% of all cases of newly diagnosed leukemias occurring in the United States during 2005, this chapter focuses on these two cancers. ... 

Kl. Kawasaki, E. S., Clark, S. S., Coyne, M. Y., Smith, S. D., and McCormick, F. P., Diagnosis of chronic myeloid and acute lymphocytic leukemias by detection of leukemia-specific mRNA sequences amplified in vitro. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 85, 5698-5702 (1988). 

---