Targeting Blood Cancers

What is CLL & SLL?
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a life-threatening cancer of adults. It is a type of mature B-cell malignancy in which abnormal leukemic B lymphocytes (a type of white blood cells) arise from the bone marrow and flood peripheral blood, bone marrow, and lymphoid tissues.^{6, 7} Since both CLL and SLL start the same way, they are considered the same disease but occur in different body parts.

Signs & Symptoms⁸

• Fatigue
• Anemia (decreased red blood cell count)
• Lymph node enlargement
• Thrombocytopenia (decreased platelet count)
• Low-grade fever
• Unexplained weight loss
• Night sweats
• Feeling of fullness (due to an enlarged spleen or liver)
• Infection of skin, lungs, kidneys, or other organs because of low immunoglobulin levels and decreased neutrophil counts

How common is CLL?
CLL is the most common type of leukemia in adults, accounting for about one-third of new cases.⁹ Over 100,000 new cases of CLL were reported globally in 2019.¹⁰

What is WM?
Waldenström macroglobulinemia starts when a person’s B-cells produce an abnormal lymphocyte-plasma hybrid cell, called a lymphoplasmacytic cell. These abnormal cells make large amounts of a certain type of antibody (immunoglobulin M, or IgM), which has a large and bulky structure. This causes blood to become very thick, impacting its flow through the body. As the abnormal cells multiply, it can overwhelm the bone marrow, leading to a shortage of healthy blood cells.¹¹

Signs & Symptoms¹²

• Fever
• Night sweats
• Weight loss
• Numbness or “pins and needles”
• Enlargement of the lymph nodes, spleen and liver
• Central nervous symptoms
• Bleeding from the mouth or nose

How Common is WM?
WM affects an estimated 3.8 million people per year worldwide.¹³

What is MCL?
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) develops in B cells located in the mantle zones of the lymph nodes. While MCL often starts as a slow-growing cancer, once it progresses, it can become more aggressive and grow rapidly. In advanced forms of this disease, cancer spreads from the lymph nodes to the bloodstream, bone marrow and/or digestive system.¹⁴

Signs & Symptoms¹⁵

• Swelling in one or more lymph nodes, particularly in the neck, armpit or groin
• Fever
• Pressure or pain in the lower back
• Belly pain
• Night sweats
• Weight loss MCL
• Headaches, dizziness and confusion

How Common is MCL?
MCL is considered a rare disease. The annual incidence is estimated to be about one case per 200,000 people globally.¹⁶

What is MZL?
Marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) is a slow-growing blood cancer that develops in the parts of a lymph node called the marginal zones, which wrap around the mantle zones. When a person has MZL, the B-cells in the marginal zone change or mutate, causing them to behave abnormally and multiply excessively. There are three types of MZL:

• Extranodal MZL of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT): the most common type of MZL, it develops in the stomach lining (gastric MALT) or in the lungs, skin, thyroid, salivary gland, bowels or near your eye (non-gastric MALT)
• Nodal MZL: affects the lymph nodes but can appear in the bone marrow
• Splenic MZL: affects the spleen, blood and bone marrow¹⁷

Signs & Symptoms¹⁸

• Fever without infection
• Night sweats
• Unexplained weight loss

How Common is MZL?
MZL is a rare disease representing 10.5% to 11.8% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) with significant variability in incidence by geographic region.¹⁹ In 2020, there were an estimated 544,000 new cases of NHLs globally.²⁰

What is FL?
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is a slow-growing cancer that occurs when abnormal B-cells group together in clusters called “follicles” inside lymph nodes or other tissues. It often spreads to the bone marrow and spleen, but it usually doesn’t affect organs and tissues other than the lymph nodes.²¹

Signs & Symptoms²²

• Painless swelling in the neck, armpit or groin
• Fever that infection or other illness is causing
• Unexplained weight loss
• Sweating and chills
• Fatigue

How Common is FL?
Approximately 3.5 people in 100,000 have FL globally.²³

What is MM?
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. MM can affect the blood, bones, and other organs, which can lead to problems in other parts of the body.²⁴

Signs & Symptoms²⁵

• Bone pain, especially in the spine, chest or hips
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Loss of appetite
• Mental fogginess or confusion
• Tiredness
• Infections
• Weight loss
• Weakness
• Thirst
• Needing to urinate often

How Common is MM?
Globally, an estimated 188,000 new cases of multiple myeloma (MM) were diagnosed in 2022.²⁶

What is AML?
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rare cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood. It typically happens when certain genes or chromosomes mutate. There are several AML subtypes – all of which affect blood cell levels. These subtypes can cause a range of symptoms and may respond differently to treatment. AML subtypes include:

• Myeloid leukemia: this is the most common type of AML and is located in neutrophil-producing cells.
• Acute monocytic leukemia (AML-M5): Occurs in monocyte-producing white blood cells.
• Acute megakaryocytic leukemia (AMLK): Affects the cells responsible for producing red blood cells or platelets.
• Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL): occurs in promyelocytes (immature white blood cells) that keep white blood cells from developing.²⁷

Signs & Symptoms²⁸

• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Night sweats
• Loss of appetite

How Common is AML?
Globally, acute myeloid leukemia affects about 4 in 100,000 adults annually.²⁹