Screening for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)

There is no national screening programme for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) in the UK.

Many people with CLL are diagnosed when having a blood test for another reason, and before they have symptoms.

What is cancer screening?

Screening means testing people for early stages of a disease before they have any symptoms. For screening to be useful the tests:

• need to be reliable at picking up cancers
• overall must do more good than harm to people taking part
• must be something that people are willing to do

Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.

Why is there no screening programme for CLL?

There is no national screening programme because:

• this condition is rare, so many people would have unnecessary tests
• the benefits don't outweigh the costs

Talk to your GP if you think you are at higher than average risk of CLL. Or if you have any symptoms of chronic leukaemia.

Watch and wait

CLL is different from most cancers because it is not usually possible to cure it but it is a very slowly developing disease. Some people live for many years without symptoms or treatment.

These people are monitored closely by their doctor. This monitoring is called watch and wait, or watchful waiting. If the leukaemia starts to cause symptoms treatment can then control the CLL for a long time.