Research Advances of Monocyte/Macrophage in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia--Review / 中国实验血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia（CLL）is a malignant hematologic disease with heterogeneous clinical course, about two thirds of patients exhibit a long survival, but the remaining third of patients show aggressiveness of disease or poor response to conventional treatment even drug resistance. Studies suggested that tumor microenvironment possesses a critical effect in CLL disease progression in recent years. Monocyte/macrophage, as an important componens of tumor microenvironment, play a promotive role in the growth and drug reistance of tumor cells by direct cell-to-cell contact, secreting cytokines and suppressing antitumor responses. Therefore, exploring the monocyte/macrophage in CLL can provide theoretic basis for target treatment of CLL. In this review, the function of monocyte/macrophage and recent advances in therapy of CLL are discussed.