Spontaneous regression in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Clinical features of 50 cases from the ERIC registry and review of the literature.

Thirty-seven patients were alive at the last follow-up, 13 had died (two dementia-related causes, one pneumonia, one warfarin-related bleeding, one ovarian cancer, eight because of unknown causes); no patient died due to CLL progression. Of the five patients initially categorized as in partial SR, three have subsequently converted to SR, one remains in partial SR and in one patient who achieved a partial SR after 19 years from diagnosis the lymphocyte count started to increase five years later. Of the four patients in stage B/II at diagnosis, two converted to A/0 and one to A/I. In the five patients with a partial SR, the median lymphocyte count at regression was 6.3 × 10 SP 9 sp /L, with a median lymphocyte decrease of 75.1% (69-89%), and at the last follow-up a median lymphocyte count of 5.6 × 10 SP 9 sp /L (5.3-11.8) (Figure 1). [Extracted from the article]