Hematologic Malignancies Program

Hairy Cell Leukemia

What Is Hairy Cell Leukemia? | Symptoms | Stages and Treatments | Clinical Trials | Greenebaum Cancer Center

Symptoms

When hairy cell leukemia develops, the leukemia cells may collect in the spleen and cause the spleen to swell. There also may be too few normal white blood cells in the blood because the leukemia cells invade the bone marrow, preventing the marrow from producing enough normal white blood cells. This may result in an infection. A person with the following symptoms should see a doctor: constant tiredness, an enlarged spleen, or an infection that won't go away.

The doctor will do a physical exam and may order blood tests to count the number of each of the different kinds of blood cells. If the results of the blood tests are not normal, the doctor may do a bone marrow biopsy. During this test, a needle is inserted into a bone and a small amount of bone marrow is taken out and examined under a microscope. The doctor can then tell what kind of leukemia the patient has and plan the best treatment.

The chance of recovery (prognosis) from hairy cell leukemia depends on the stage of the disease and the patient's age and general health.


This page was last updated on: March 3, 2008.