Stages of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Staging of CLL helps determine the right treatment plan.
If you are diagnosed with CLL, your healthcare team will need to determine how advanced
the disease is. This process is called staging. Doctors use a system called the
RAI classification to determine the risk. Knowing the stage of the disease helps
your healthcare team determine the correct treatment plan.
The 5 stages of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Stage 0 CLL.
Patients are at low risk and have
lymphocytosis, an increase in the number of lymphocytes. A high lymphocyte
count is defined as more than 10,000 lymphocytes per cubic millimeter
The 5 stages of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Stage I CLL.
Patients are at intermediate risk and have lymphocytosis, plus enlarged lymph nodes
The 5 stages of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Stage II CLL.
Patients are at intermediate risk but have lymphocytosis plus an enlarged liver
or enlarged spleen, with or without lymphadenopathy
The 5 stages of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Stage III CLL.
Patients are at high risk and have lymphocytosis plus
anemia
The 5 stages of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Stage IV CLL.
Patients are at high risk but have lymphocytosis plus
thrombocytopenia, a low number of blood platelets
Learn about risk factors of CLL