Learn more about slow-growing lymphoma here. A person with SLL will have less than 5,000 monoclonal lymphocytes per mm³ in the blood, but they will also have a swollen spleen or swollen glands.Īs the cancers are so similar, doctors use the same treatments for both SLL and CLL. However, there are some differences in the blood.Ī person with CLL will have more than 5,000 monoclonal lymphocytes per cubic millimeter (mm³) in the blood. When doctors examine the cancer cells under a microscope, both SLL and CLL look the same. Bone marrow is the spongy tissue in the middle of the bones that makes substances that produce blood cells. However, in CLL, the cancer cells appear mainly in the bone marrow and blood cells. CLL: Bone marrow and blood cellsĬLL also affects the immune system. Lymph nodes are part of the body’s immune system. The lymph nodes are small bean-shaped glands that contain white blood cells, or lymphocytes, and help filter substances that travel through the lymphatic fluid. In people with SLL, cancer cells appear mainly in the lymph nodes.
These cancers start in the white blood cells and affect the lymphatic system. However, they affect different areas of the immune system.īoth conditions are types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. SLL and CLL are both lymphocytic conditions that affect the immune system. Share on Pinterest AnnaTamila/Getty Images
