Great question — these abbreviations can definitely get confusing! CLL stands for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, while CMML stands for Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia. They are two distinct types of leukemia that develop from different blood cells and are treated differently.
Here's a simple breakdown:
CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Show Full Answer
Great question — these abbreviations can definitely get confusing! CLL stands for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, while CMML stands for Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia. They are two distinct types of leukemia that develop from different blood cells and are treated differently.
Here's a simple breakdown:
CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia)
- Develops from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell)
- One of the most common types of leukemia in adults
- Generally slow-growing
CMML (Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia)
- Develops from monocytes (another type of white blood cell)
- A rare type of leukemia — only about 1,100 people are diagnosed per year in the US
- More common in men and adults over 60 CMML is further broken into subtypes based on how many immature cells (called blasts) are found in the blood and bone marrow:
- CMML-0 — Less than 2% blasts in blood, less than 5% in bone marrow
- CMML-1 — 2%–4% blasts in blood, 5%–9% in bone marrow
- CMML-2 — 5%–19% blasts in blood, 10%–19% in bone marrow
So CMML-1 simply means your blast cell levels fall within that middle range. Knowing your subtype helps your doctor figure out the best treatment plan for you. It's always worth asking your care team what your subtype means for your specific situation!
3 days ago
Join
Your Privacy Choices
