Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most frequent leukemia in adults in the Western
world, is characterized by predominantly nondividing malignant CD5+ B cells
overexpressing the anti-apoptotic Bcl2 protein. Significant familial aggregation with largely
unknown mode of inheritance has been demonstrated. Until recently little else was known
regarding the events leading to CLL initiation and progression. New findings support the
view that CLL is a genetic disease where the main alterations occur at the level of …