Expert Panel:
Dr. Erin Parry, Investigator, Hematologic Neoplasia at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Jeff Folloder, Moderator and CLL patient advocate
Our recent CLL Global Research Foundation virtual town hall featured CLL Global President, Dr. William Wierda, and Dr. Erin Parry, an Investigator of Hematologic Neoplasia at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. CLL patient advocate Jeff Folloder moderated the event. Watch the full webinar.
Transcript
Jeff Folloder:
What exactly are the signs of Richter’s transformation? What tests are needed to determine if someone has actually gone down that path?
Dr. Erin Parry:
I usually tell people that there’s not necessarily a particular symptom that they should be aware of or looking for, but if they’re feeling unwell or something’s changing, they should be talking to their doctor. So, if someone gets sick really suddenly, that does get our attention because that can sometimes be a sign. Or if we notice rapid growth of lymph nodes, particularly if it’s a certain subset of lymph nodes, those will sometimes raise our threshold or suspicion.
When we’re thinking about that, the first step is meeting with your doctor who will do an exam and talk with you, and then we often get a PET scan when there’s concern for a transformation, because that can sometimes help us figure out where the area is that we should narrow in on and how we should go about getting a biopsy sample, because right now we still rely on biopsies to make that diagnosis.
