ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: in Mexico published casuistry concerning hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is limited. OBJECTIVE: to describe the therapeutic response and survival of patients with HCL attended in a third level public institution. METHODS: patient's data with HCL diagnosis registered between January 1989 - December 2009 were analyzed. RESULTS: twenty three patients fulfilled HCL diagnosis criteria. Median age was 44 years (range 23-75 years) and median follow-up of the cohort was 1,877 days (range 1-8,462 days). First line treatment varied along time finding complete response (CR) and partial response (PR) rates of 77.3 and 18.2%, respectively. Of all therapeutic modalities employed cladribine induced the highest response rate. Survival at 1,877 days was 82.6%. At last follow-up 65.2% of patients remain alive, 13 in CR and 2 in PR; 4 died (CR = 2, PR = 1, active disease = 1) and 4 were lost during follow-up. CONCLUSION: this study which included more patients than previous single-institution Mexican series confirm the chronic clinical behavior of HCL and that purine analogs are corner stone in the treatment of patients suffering HCL.
