Clinical course of CLL is variable. Recently, progress has been made in the identification of biological markers that could predict disease progression. Particularly, the expression of unmutated Ig genes, some cytogenetic abnormalities like 17p and 11q deletions and the expression of the zeta-associated protein 70 (ZAP-70) are associated to a poor prognosis. A major scientific goal is to find a biomolecular explanation for CLL prognosis heterogeneity that can provide clues in the understanding of disease etiology and pathogenic mechanisms which favor the onset of the disease, as well as its progression and evolution into aggressive variants (Richter’s lymphoma or.
