title: Specificity of treatment is mandatory in very old patients with hairy cell leukemia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are only a few available data about hairy cell leukemia (HCL) in very old patients. We presented three very different cases of HCL in very old patients diagnosed in a single center and discussed some epidemiological and therapeutical issues in such patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The first patient, 89-year-old, had symptomatic cytopenia and achieved sustained complete remission after cladribine treatment. The second patient, 89-year-old, had asymptomatic disease with stable full blood counts during a 3-year follow-up period in which watch-and-wait policy was adopted. The third patient, 82 years old, had two malignancies (HCL and presumably metas- tatic colorectal carcinoma) and his only treatment were occasional red blood cell transfusions and symptomatic therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presented illustrative examples confirm individualization of treatment is mandatory in very old patients with HCL.
authors.forename: Dragomir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marisavljević
authors.forename: Olivera
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Marković
authors.forename: Radmila
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Živković
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017338:Cladribine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion; D006801:Humans; D007943:Leukemia, Hairy Cell / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D057285:Precision Medicine; D057832:Watchful Waiting / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D017338:Cladribine