Hairy-Cell Leukaemia

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Hairy-cell leukaemia (HCL) is an established clinicopathological entity typified by a chronic picture of substantial splenomegaly, less frequent hepatomegaly, and only inconspicuous lymphadenopathy. Central to the diagnosis is the pathognomonic hairy cell (HC), a dis- tinctive mononuclear cell that circulates in varying numbers and infiltrates a variety of organs, including the bone marrow and spleen. Peripheral pancytopenia is often present, and circulating HCs may be infrequent. HCs are invariably present in the bone marrow; but, per- haps because of the extensive fibrosis characteristic of the disease, the marrow is frequently difficult to aspirate, and confirmation of the diagnosis may require histopathological ex- amination of biopsy material. The incidence of the disease has been given as 2% ofleukaemias [29, 319] or as approximately 1 % of identifiable lymphomas [230]. Our own experience of collecting cases in the United Kingdom leads us to expect that at any given time one patient with HCL will be attending a clinic serving some 150,000 people.