Prognosis

The prognosis for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia is variable. Whereas in some patients this type of leukemia is just an analysis discovery with no impact on the general condition of a person or on life expectancy, in other cases the CLL produces some symptoms (such as an enlargement of lymph nodes) and patients need treatment.

Therefore, it is essential to determine which patients with CLL have a more aggressive disease and which ones have a benign-type disease (so they would likely need no treatment). Our teamwork has recently identified a "marker" that is very important for the prognosis of this type of leukemia.

Global survival for CLL patients.

Global survival probability curve for CLL patients

Survival according to ZAP-70 value

Survival probability curve for CLL patients according to ZAP-70 value. Patients with low ZAP-70 values have a better prognosis than those with a high ZAP-70 value

This marker is called ZAP-70 and permits a prognosis to be made with significant accuracy.. this simple blood sample analysis technique,can determine which CLL patients would need more monitoring in order to detect any complication that may require treatment. It would alsodetermine which patientscould have a benign development of the disease and, thus, who could avoid treatment at least for a few years.