Hairy cell leukemia

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Definition

Hairy cell leukemia is a rare, slow-growing cancer of the blood in which your bone marrow makes too many B cells (lymphocytes), a type of white blood cell that fights infection. These excess B cells are abnormal and look "hairy" under a microscope because of fine projections (villi) from their surface. As the number of leukemia cells increases, fewer healthy white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets are produced.

Somewhere between 600 and 800 people are diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia each year in the United States. Hairy cell leukemia affects more men than women, and it occurs most commonly in middle-aged or older adults. Children and teenagers don't get hairy cell leukemia.

Doctors aren't sure what causes hairy cell leukemia, and there is no cure. Hairy cell leukemia is considered a chronic disease because it may never completely disappear, although treatment can lead to a remission for years.

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Symptoms