Even for the young at heart, age does make a difference.  This is of particular importance when we consider therapy options for elderly patients.  Here is a review of a “best practices” paper that discusses the special needs of elderly CLL patients.

That is the first question that pops into our brains, when we are first diagnosed with cancer.  CLL patients are no different in that respect.  So, what can early stage CLL  patients expect, by way of both quality and quantity of life?

MRD-Negative status means even our most sophisticated tests cannot detect any CLL cells in your body, at the end of therapy.  If you get MRD negative status, does this mean you are cured? Is it worth going the extra mile (or two, or more) to get this coveted status? Does it make a difference to how long you can expect to live?

In an earlier article we saw CFAR was much too toxic in a group of relapsed / refractory patients.  However, does this combination have a role to play as frontline therapy in high risk but otherwise healthy patients? You be the judge, here are the definitive results of this approach.

Prognostic indicators have vastly increased our understanding of CLL and our ability to distinguish between high risk patients and lucky “smoldering” variety. Is this must have information? Should patients ‘encourage’ their physicians to do prognostic testing?  This is an important issue and one that impacts all patients.

Several clinical trials have highlighted the use of FCR in chemo-naive patients.  But who is likely to get most joy from FCR as salvage therapy, after relapsing from other therapies?  When is FCR salvage not worth trying?  Here are some useful pointers  from M. D. Anderson.

Yesterday (April 9, 2011) we held our third workshop, “All about prognostic indicators“.  Here is my slide presentation and comments.  We had a full house and I cannot do justice to the very lively discussion during and after. If you were among the participants, please chime in, add your comments. This is a community affair, things work better when you guys  pitch-in as well.  Thanks.

I am pleased to announce the date, time and location of our Spring 2011 CLL Workshop.  With little more than a month advance notice, I hope more of you will be able to attend.  The subject is one that is always of interest to CLL patients: Understanding Modern Prognostic Indicators.

Recent European clinical trial results have emphasized the importance of getting up-to-date FISH testing prior to front-line therapy decisions.  Are there situations when FISH results fail to warn us ahead of time?  You bet! 

The latest FCR versus FC clinical trial is  Phase III (late stage), large scale, multi-center, double arm and randomized study.  It does not get more credible than that.  It is important you get the picture straight, not get confused by misinformation on chat rooms and the lay press.