Report of 3 Cases of Hairy Cell Leukemia Treated with 2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is an uncommon chronic B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by cytopenia, splenomegaly and mononuclear cells displaying cytoplasmic projections. Diagnosis is based on the distinctive hairy cell morphology and immunological profile. In the last 10 to 15 years the prognosis of patients with HCL has improved considerably following the use of purine analogues such as deoxycoformyc in and 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA). We report 3 patients with HCL who were treated with 2-CdA at a daily dosage of 0.1mg/kg by continuous intravenous infusion for 7 days. After 1 or 2 courses of treatment, all patients achieved complete remiss ion and are still alive in disease-free status. (Korean J Hematol 2002;37:292 296)