Definition and Classification

By definition, hairy cell leukemia is a type of a matured B cell neoplasm. Neoplasm is characterized or defined as the abnormal multiplication of cells. This abnormal process activity results to growth of cloned cells and these cells are uncoordinated. In the medical world, hairy cell leukemia is classified under chronic lymphoid leukemia. This type of leukemia is not very common. According to statistics, only 2% of all types of leukemia are diagnosed as hairy cell leukemia within Western Europe and North America.

This type of leukemia is originally known in many names such as histioclytic leukemia, lymphoid myelofibrosis and malignant reticulosis. This is classified under two variants: the classic, also called Japanese variant, and the non-Japanese variant, which is a lot more difficult to treat.

The Two types of Hairy Cell Leukemia

The first type of this leukemia is the classic one called hairy cell leukemia-variant. This is a lot more difficult to treat than the other and the hairy cell leukemia survival may be slim. Also known as HCL-V, this is first included in the list of cancer diseases back in 1980. It was said that about 10% of people having HCL-V have this type of leukemia, among the other variants. Statistics show that about 65-75 new patients each year have this type and most of the people affected are males. Also called Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, HCL-V may be considered as a very aggressive type or form of leukemia. Accordingly, hairy cell leukemia treatment may involve several processes such as Interferon-alpha, ctclophosphamide, and other alkylating agents.

Perhaps the main difference of this type of leukemia form the others is that the white blood cell count is higher than the others. With this type, the white blood cells are in excess of 100,000 cells per microliter. The other type of this leukemia is the Japanese Variant or HCL-J, which is easily treated.

Symptoms of Hairy Cell Leukemia

Hairy cell leukemia symptoms may not be easy to detect. When tests are done, doctors will look for a build up of hairy cells in the bone marrow. This is an indication that the bone marrow cannot produce enough healthy replacement cells to fight infections and carry oxygen. The m most common symptoms are consistent fatigue and bleeding. Another symptom is that the person may always feel full because these abnormal cells have the tendency to lodge in the spleen.

Diagnosis of Hairy Cell Leukemia

A person with leukemia, after experiencing the common symptoms given earlier, should go to a specialist and have his blood checked for hairy cell leukemia prognosis. The first step is to do a blood count. When the disease is at an early stage, the doctors will diagnose lumphadenopathy or enlarged lymph nodes. This is normally seen through a CT scan. Another lab finding that is crucial in the diagnosis of leukemia is the number of white blood cells. The cells will also look abnormal and hairy.

Treating Leukemia

According to medical books, treatment of hairy cell leukemia is not needed by everybody. This is only needed if the symptoms are interfering with the person’s life. In case it is needed, there are treatments available such as drugs, purine anlog chempotheraphy and immunotheraphy.