Dr Philippa Ashmore tells us how chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia is now managed with increased emphasis on personalised and chemotherapy-free treatments. Chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia (CLL) is the most common leukaemia in the western world. This blood/bone marrow cancer is most often seen in older patients, although younger patients can be affected, with a higher rate in men compared to women. How does chronic lymphoblastic leukaemia develop? The CLL cell is an immune system cell, called a B-lymphocyte, that becomes cancerous. This happens at a stage of development before the immune cell can make normal and healthy antibodies, resulting in a very dysfunctional…
