A future study linking tumor genetics with CLL dynamics

New genetic sequencing techniques could yield profound insights into disease progression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Niamh Appleby, MB, BAO, BCh, MRCPI, FRCPath, from the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, spoke to us at the British Society for Haematology (BSH) 2018 Annual Scientific Meeting, held in Liverpool, UK, about her future study, which aims to link genetic profiles of tumor cells with overall trends in disease progression in monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (MBL) and early stage CLL. Clonal B-cells, non-tumor lymphocytes and cell-free (cf)DNA will be collected, along with quality of life data, over a 5 year period in order to elucidate such trends.