Clinical features and diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia

Significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of hairy cell leukemia (HCL) have recently been made. Improved distinction of HCL from its mimics though clinical presentations, morphologic and immunophenotypic features, and more recently molecular biology, has highlighted marked differences in treatment response and overall prognosis between these disorders. As our understanding of the unique pathobiology of HCL has grown, exciting new avenues of treatment as well as insight into immune function have been obtained. This review provides an overview of the clinical features and diagnostic attributes of HCL, with contrast to other mature B cell lymphoproliferative disorders with overlapping features.