Molecular basis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosis and prognosis.

Backgrounds Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common type of leukemia in adults and is characterized by a clonal accumulation of mature apoptosis-resistant neoplastic cells. It is also a heterogeneous disease with a variable clinical outcome. Here, we present a review of currently known (epi)genetic alterations that are related to the etiology, progression and chemo-refractoriness of CLL. Relevant literature was identified through a PubMed search (1994–2014) of English-language papers using the terms CLL, signaling pathway, cytogenetic abnormality, somatic mutation, epigenetic alteration and micro-RNA.