A form of cancer of the white blood cells that are produced by the lymphatic system.
A rare cancer of the blood-forming tissues, particularly the bone marrow. The number of all types of blood cells falls, while abnormal cells (known as hairy cells because of their unusual appearance under the microscope) proliferate in the blood and bone marrow. Symptoms include fatigue, weakness, easy bleeding and bruising, recurrent infections, excessive sweating, swollen lymph nodes, and an enlarged spleen. The disease progresses slowly and is treated with chemotherapy plus antibiotics to stop infections and transfusions of platelets to stop bleeding episodes. In many cases, the spleen is removed to resolve symptoms. Although the disease is not curable, most people with hairy cell leukemia live 10 years or longer after diagnosis.
A chronic, low-grade hematological malignancy of abnormally shaped B lymphocytes (“hairy cells”). The disease is marked by pancytopenia and splenomegaly. Median survival in untreated patients is about 5 years. The disease is rare, being only 1% to 2% of all leukemias. The median age of patients is 50 years; men are affected more commonly than women by a 4-to-l ratio.