Prolymphocytic leukemia
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Carlos A Lopez, M.D. [2], Maria Fernanda Villarreal, M.D. [3]
For more information regarding B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, please click here.
For more information regarding T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, please click here.
Overview
Prolymphocytic leukemia is a rare lymphoid leukemia, which account for only about 2% of all mature lymphoid leukemias. Prolymphocytic leukemias present similar to leukemia. Like lymphomas, they originate in the lymphocytes, but do not form solid tumors. Prolymphocytic leukemias are also considered lymphoproliferative disorders, which mean that lymphocytes are produced in large amounts.
Prolymphocytic leukemia may be classified according to the type of cell involved: B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia and T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia. Originally, it was thought to be a rare variation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but is now considered a distinct disease. It is usually classified as a kind of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Although these 2 types of prolymphocytic leukemias share some of the same characteristics, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies them as different types of lymphoid leukemias.[1]
Classification
For more details about each specific type of prolymphocytic leukemia, please select:
| Prolymphocytic leukemia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| B-cell prolymphocytic leukemia | T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Differentiating B-Prolymphocytic Leukemia from T-Prolymphocytic Leukemia
In order to distinguish B-prolymphocytic leukemia from T-prolymphocytic leukemia, see the table below.
| Characteristics | B-cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia | T-cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia |
|---|---|---|
| Epidemiology |
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| Age |
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| Onset |
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| Clinical Features |
B symptoms
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| Diagnosis | Peripheral blood smear
Biomarkers
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Peripheral blood smear
Biomarkers
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