Improved survival for patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the era of chemo-immunotherapy: a Danish population-based study of 10455 patients

The treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is in rapid transition, and during recent decades both combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy have been introduced. To evaluate the effects of this development, we identified all CLL patients registered in the nation-wide Danish Cancer Register between 1978 and 2013. We identified 10 455 CLL patients and 508 995 CLL-free control persons from the general population. Compared with the latter, the relative mortality rate between CLL patients and their controls decreased from 3.4 (95% CI 3.2–3.6) to 1.9 (95% CI 1.7–2.1) for patients diagnosed in 1978–1984 and 2006–2013, respectively. The improved survival corresponded to a decreasing risk of death from malignant hematological diseases, whereas the risk of death from infections was stable during the study period. These population-based data substantiate the improved survival for patients treated with chemo-immunotherapy demonstrated in clinical studies.