BETA - How is chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosed?

So nowadays, the CLL in patients is usually diagnosed incidentally, given the fact that people are more frequently going to physicians for physical examination or having routine surgeries that leads to blood work. And that's the way most of the patients are diagnosed with these routine blood tests where they get a blood count called a CBC, which shows an elevated, slightly elevated white blood cell count. And that's what leads to the diagnosis of CLL. In some patients, they are symptomatic to begin with. A patient may come to the physician saying that they have noticed a lymph node in their neck or somewhere under their arms. And that leads to the diagnosis with further testing. A biopsy of a lymph node may be done, and that leads to the diagnosis of the CLL. But by far, most of the times, it's an incidental diagnosis. There are several ways that CLL can be diagnosed, and it varies depending on the patient and the presentation. In some patients, the diagnosis can be made with blood tests and a physical exam at the doctor's office. In other patients, some additional tests may be needed. Those tests may include imaging, like CT scans or PET scans. A biopsy of a lymph node may be required to make the diagnosis. And then in some cases, a bone marrow biopsy may be needed as well.