title: Familial chronic lymphocytic leukemia in Israel: A disproportionate distribution among Ashkenazi Jews.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Relatives of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are at increased risk of developing CLL. Familial CLL is defined as more than one case of CLL among blood relatives, a phenomenon reported in approximately 5%-10% of all CLL patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Given the known predisposition of CLL among Ashkenazi Jews, we studied the features of familial CLL in an Israeli population.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a retrospective study, in which we reviewed the demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of a total of 332 patients with CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Familial CLL was recorded in 41 cases (12.3%) of the patients. The age at diagnosis was younger in patients with familial CLL (by almost 3.5 years). Familial CLL was strongly associated with Ashkenazi Jewish origin. Patients with familial CLL more commonly presented with higher hemoglobin and lower serum β-2-microglobulin levels. No significant differences were detected between sporadic and familial CLL in disease stage, time to treatment, second cancers, or overall survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Familial cases of CLL in an Israeli population show a disproportionate ethnic distribution toward Jews of Ashkenazi origin. The clinical characteristics and the overall outcome are not substantially different from sporadic cases.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Hematology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Mor
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zada
authors.affiliation: The Department of Hematology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lerner
authors.affiliation: The Department of Hematology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Yuval
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Piltz
authors.affiliation: The Department of Hematology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Chava
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: The Department of Hematology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Irit
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Avivi
authors.affiliation: The Department of Hematology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.|Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Yair
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7864-0089
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Herishanu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000744:Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D007585:Jews; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: CLL; Familial; Israel