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Update on the Biology and Treatment Options for Hairy Cell Leukemia

  • Leukemia (JP Dutcher, Section Editor)
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Opinion Statement

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is an uncommon chronic leukemia of mature B cells. Leukemic B cells of HCL exhibit a characteristic morphology and immunophenotype and coexpress multiple clonally related immunoglobulin isotypes. Precise diagnosis and detailed workup is essential, because the clinical profile of HCL can closely mimic that of other chronic B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders that are treated differently. Variants of HCL, such as HCLv and VH4-34 molecular variant, vary in the immunophenotype and specific VH gene usage, and have been more resistant to available treatments. On the contrary, classic HCL is a highly curable disease. Most patients show an excellent long-term response to treatment with single-agent cladribine or pentostatin, with or without the addition of an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody such as rituximab. However, approximately 30-40 % of patients with HCL relapse after therapy; this can be treated with the same purine analogue that was used for the initial treatment. Advanced molecular techniques have identified distinct molecular aberrations in the Raf/MEK-ERK pathway and BRAF (V600E) mutations that drive the proliferation and survival of HCL B cells. Currently, research in the field of HCL is focused on identifying novel therapeutic targets and potential agents that are safe and can universally cure the disease. Ongoing and planned clinical trials are assessing various treatment strategies, such as the combination of purine analogues and various anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, recombinant immunotoxins targeting CD22 (e.g., moxetumomab pasudotox), BRAF inhibitors, such as vemurafenib, and B-cell receptor signaling inhibitors, such as ibrutinib, which is a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This article provides an update of our current understanding of the pathophysiology of HCL and the treatment options available for patients with classic HCL. Discussion of variant forms of HCL is beyond the scope of this manuscript.

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Preetesh Jain, Naveen Pemmaraju, and Farhad Ravandi declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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  1. Department of Leukemia, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Preetesh Jain MD, PhD, Naveen Pemmaraju MD & Farhad Ravandi MD

  2. Department of Leukemia, Unit 428, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Farhad Ravandi MD

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Jain, P., Pemmaraju, N. & Ravandi, F. Update on the Biology and Treatment Options for Hairy Cell Leukemia. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 15, 187–209 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-014-0285-5

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