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More about Hairy Cell Leukemia:
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When a patient suffers from the above symptoms, the doctor will palpate the abdomen and may order scans to see if the spleen is enlarged (splenomegaly). An enlarged spleen is present in 80% of patients. An enlarged liver is less common, but can occur.
If the spleen is enlarged, the doctor may order several blood tests. In these tests, the total numbers of each of the different types of blood cells (CBC) are reported. Sixty to eighty percent of patients suffer from pancytopenia, which is a dramatic reduction in the number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets circulating in the blood.
If the blood tests are abnormal, the doctor may order a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. In order to establish a diagnosis, hairy cells must be present in the bone marrow.
— Sally C. McFarlane-Parrott; Lata Cherath
