Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia

85% of patients are diagnosed incidentally, as they have no symptoms or signs. In these cases, no treatment is recommended but simple monitoring of the disease. In fact, 40% of patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia never have a need to receive specific treatment for this disease.

The rest of the patients who develop signs or symptoms will, however, need treatment. This treatment was traditionally chemotherapy; however, new oral drugs are increasingly used, which are more effective and more acceptable to the patient. These new drugs have fewer side effects than chemotherapy but must be taken indefinitely, at least for the moment.