This is the mangled paragraph unmangled.
In the original paper describing Rai staging, stage 0 patients were reported to have an overall survival in excess of 10 years [15]. It should be remembered that at this time the diagnostic criteria for CLL required a lymphocyte count greater than 15 x 109/L. Subsequently, the French Co-operative group [16] recognized a type of smoldering Binet stage A’ CLL with Hb greater than 120 g/L and lymphocyte count less than 30 x 109/L. Of the patients fulfilling these criteria 25% had progressed by 5 years. The Spanish group [17] defined smoldering cases as stage A patients having Hb greater than 130 g/L, lymphocyte count less than 30 x 10 9/L, non-deffuse bone marrow histology and a lymphocyte doubling tgime of greater than 12 months. The actuarial ten year preogression-free survival for these was 78%.
Ok Terry,
ReplyDeleteI am beginning to get it. Your research is showing
that patients with AL and good prognostic markers do
not progress or need treatment throughout their
lifetime. Patients with AL/CLL, (which is what I
would call this group) and aggressive markers need
to be watched closely for progression of cll, as
they are the ones that will, most likely, need
treatment sometime down the road.
If the AL patients do not have the prognostic tests
run, then we will never know which group they belong
in. Now, I am getting it. So--perhaps the testing
for all the markers should be done before the
patient ever hears the name-AL. This is done all
the time in the medical world. Many tests, some not
even needed, until a diagnosis can be made. The
whole time the patient only knows they are looking
for "something". Then upon learning if they are AL
or AL/CLL the testing has been done. Otherwise, too
many will go straight to an oncologist because of
the emotional side of CLL and look for treatment.
Jenny Lou
Terry-
ReplyDeleteYou do realize that your first Document is named, maybe correctly, "Consulation". Ha-ha