Assessing adverse event burden in chronic lymphocytic leukemia treatment regimens: what’s best for patient quality of life?

CLL is a clinically heterogenous disease predominantly affecting elderly patients. The variable clinical course of disease requires personalization and individualized treatment to achieve the optimal survival outcome and acceptable safety profile, especially in the case of poor prognosis. Clinical trials performed in the past decade indicate that novel drugs, used as a single agent or as part of a conventional chemotherapy, offer promise in minimalizing relapse rates, and may allow more effective and safer treatment options by reducing the risk of adverse events, especially cytopenias and infections.