Dr. Ferrajoli on Managing CLL in Elderly Patients

Alessandra Ferrajoli, MD, associate professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses managing chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in elderly patients.

Clinical trials that have shown that the management of elderly patients with CLL needs to be different from the fit and young population. Though there is no standard of care for elderly patients with CLL, physicians are beginning to move away from chemoimmunotherapy and towards monoclonal antibody-based treatment. Physicians are also starting to accept that new agents may work best in this population, as they are well-tolerated and easy to take. lk

In addition to considering the fitness and type of disease of elderly patients, physicians must consider transportation difficulties, limited financial budgets and ease of treatment.