Anthony Mato, MD, from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center gives an overview of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and discusses findings of the informCLL registry presented at ASH 2020.
As Dr. Mato explains, CLL is a rare blood cancer resulting in a build-up of lymphocytes in bone marrow, lymph nodes, and blood. The disease is treatable, but relapse is very common.
InformCLL is a prospective observational registry assessing the treatment patterns and appropriate testing of CLL patients. On average, the registry followed patients for 5 years. The findings of the registry showed that only a minority of CLL patients were given the testing recommended by experts prior to treatment. Furthermore, the data indicate that there is a knowledge gap. About a quarter of patients in the registry were not given chemoimmunotherapy, the standard of care, even after prognostic marker testing indicated poor risk features. Dr. Mato asserts that these findings are crucial as they indicate where efforts need to be made in terms of educating both patients and healthcare providers.
For more information about CLL and other rare cancers, visit checkrare.com/diseases/cancers/