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Start free with EleplanClassic hairy cell leukemia
ORPHA:58017Disease
Also called HCL-C · Leukemic reticuloendotheliosis
What it is
A rare, slowly progressive, chronic leukemia characterized by presence of abnormal B-lymphocytes (medium sized with abundant irregular pale cytoplasm, hair-like cytoplasmic projections/ruffled cytoplasmic border, a round or bean-shaped nucleus and absent nucleoli) in the blood or bone marrow, spleen and peripheral blood pancytopenia, notable monocytopenia, and marked susceptibility to infection. The characteristic immunophenotype is CD11c+, CD25+, CD103+ and CD123+ with a BRAF mutation in most cases.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- 1-9 / 100 000 (lifetime, Europe)
- Age of onset
- Adult
- Inheritance
- Unknown
- Classified as
- Disease
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
Gene
ICD-10 codes
ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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