Tag Archive for: white blood cell count

Does Untreated Asymptomatic CLL Carry Risks?

/in , , , , , /by

Does Untreated Asymptomatic CLL Carry Risks? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Does untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) that’s asymptomatic carry risks? Expert Dr. Ryan Jacobs explains CLL characteristics that are checked, research results from the CLL12 trial, and trends for treating vs. not treating asymptomatic CLL.

Dr. Ryan Jacobs is a hematologist/oncologist specializing in chronic lymphocytic leukemia from Levine Cancer Institute. Learn more about Dr. Jacobs.

See More from START HERE CLL

Related Programs:

Why Does Bruising Occur in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia?

 Can CLL Remission Occur With Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Treatments?

Can CLL Remission Occur With Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Treatments?

 Should CLL Patients Worry About Enlarged Lymph Nodes?

Should CLL Patients Worry About Enlarged Lymph Nodes?

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

So, Dr. Jacobs, if CLL is left untreated due to no symptoms, and the white blood count is up to 150-200,000. Can it transform to another type of cancer? And what are the dangers of not treating without symptoms?

Dr. Jacobs:

Yeah, so a couple points are highlighted in that question. One I would say, is that I would like to highlight, is that there is no specific white blood cell count that says you need to treat CLL. We do sometimes reference doubling time in less than six months or 50 percent or less than two months. But I would just note that actually a lot of specialists are de-emphasizing that criteria even as well. So we are really just focusing on, in terms of objective values on the complete blood count, looking at the hemoglobin and is it less than 10 platelet count? Is it less than a 100,000? And we’re using those as a guide to how healthy the bone marrow is, how much the CLL has invaded the bone marrow, but not specifically the white blood cell count.

So the answer is no, there’s no inherent danger to continuing a patient even into the 100 plus range on observation. Now, in terms of the second part of that question, are there any dangers to not treating asymptomatic patients, we actually just conclusively had the final report, the most recent report of trying to treat asymptomatic patients. And it was the CLL12 trial that was just presented at the European Hematology Association meeting that compared ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to a placebo in a blinded trial in higher risk CLL patients that didn’t meet clinical criteria to treatment. And the overall survival of the two groups after several years of following patients was, there was no difference in overall survival. So yet another study confirming that there’s no…you do not improve survival of patients when you try to treat them early.

Share Your Feedback

Create your own user feedback survey

Why Should CLL Patients Speak Up About Treatment Side Effects?

/in , , , , , , , , , /by

Why Should CLL Patients Speak Up About Treatment Side Effects? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo. 

How can chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients benefit from speaking up about their treatment side effects? Dr. Lindsey Roeker explains how these important discussions can impact a patient’s quality of life.

Dr. Lyndsey Roeker is a hematologic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Learn more about Dr. Roeker here.

Download Guide

See More From INSIST! CLL

Related Resources

 
What CLL Tests Are Essential and How Do Results Impact Treatment and Prognosis?

What CLL Tests Are Essential and How Do Results Impact Treatment and Prognosis?

 the COVID-19 Vaccination Safe for CLL Patients in Treatment?

Is the COVID-19 Vaccination Safe for CLL Patients in Treatment?

 What Factors Impact CLL Treatment Options?

What Factors Impact CLL Treatment Options?

Transcript:

Katherine:                  

Why is it important for patients to speak up if they’re experiencing side effects? I know that they sometimes feel like they’re bothering their healthcare team.

Dr. Roeker:                 

Thank you for that question, because it’s really important point. Side effects are easiest to manage when you catch them early. So, when people have, for instance, muscle pain or joint aches, I have lots of tricks up my sleeve to help people, but I need to know about it. So, if people don’t tell me until they have joint pain that’s so bad that they’re not able to exercise or not able to get out of bed easily in the morning, that’s taking it – it’s gone on for a while at that point, and it’s pretty far down the line.

First of all, you wouldn’t have had to suffer for that long because we have ways of fixing it, and second, it’s always harder to fix a problem once it’s further down the line than earlier on. So, I talk to people about what side effects they might experience and what to expect, and then we talk about different management strategies to really nip it early so that we’re not dealing with a really huge problem down the line.

What Are Common Symptoms of CLL?

/in , , , , , , , /by

What Are Common Symptoms of CLL? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are common signs and symptoms of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)? Dr. Lindsey Roeker reviews how CLL is typically diagnosed and symptoms that patients may experience.

Dr. Lindsey Roeker is a hematologic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Learn more about Dr. Roeker here.

Download Guide

See More From INSIST! CLL

Related Resources

 
What CLL Tests Are Essential and How Do Results Impact Treatment and Prognosis?

What CLL Tests Are Essential and How Do Results Impact Treatment and Prognosis?

 What is High-Risk CLL and How Is It Treated?

What is High-Risk CLL and How Is It Treated?

 What Factors Impact CLL Treatment Options?

What Factors Impact CLL Treatment Options?
 

Transcript:

Katherine:                  

How is CLL diagnosed?

Dr. Roeker:                 

So, for most patients, CLL is diagnosed after a routine blood test shows a high white blood cell count. That’s kind of the most common way that we find people entering into our clinic. Other things that people can notice is they have lumps or bumps that they’ve felt in their neck or under their armpits. Those are some other symptoms that can lead to the diagnosis, but often once a patient finds that their white blood cell count is high, some additional testing is done, and the diagnosis of CLL is made.

Katherine:                  

What are some common symptoms of CLL? You mentioned the lumps and bumps.

Dr. Roeker:                 

So, often in early stages, the lumps and bumps in the neck are the most common that people recognize, but fevers or chills, night sweats, where patients are waking up drenched, having to change their pajamas, or weight loss without trying, are some other symptoms that can raise some alarm bells and make people start looking for something.

And CLL can be a diagnosis that can be found through that, as well.