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A typical “smudge cell” on a peripheral blood smear, a common finding in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
| Photo Credit: By Mikael Häggström, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114453624
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of leukemia or blood cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow (spongy tissue inside the bones that forms blood cells). It is one of the lesser-known types of blood cancers in India. . According to a 2025 paper published in the European Society of Medicine, CLL is one of the least common leukemias in India, accounting for less than 5% of all leukemias, with incidence rates ten times lesser than in the United States.
The term ‘lymphocytic’ refers to the particular cells that are affected by this type of leukemia. In this condition the lymphocytes or group of white blood cells in the body exceed the normal count and increase in abnormal quantities inside the patient’s body.
The white blood cells form part of the immune system and help the body fight diseases. When the body contracts an infection, the white blood cell count increases, in a defence mechanism to fight against the infection. As the infection gets better, the white blood cell count decreases. But when a person has CLL, the number of white blood cells do not subside even after an infection leaves the body.
CLL has a slower prognosis in the human body than other types of leukemia. According to doctors, CLL does not have any specific cause. . Doctors said most cases of CLL are not linked to environmental exposure, and are believed to arise from inherent oncogenic changes.
