| Summary: | Introduction. 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. Case report. 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 metastatic
colorectal carcinoma) and his only treatment were occasional red blood cell
transfusions and symptomatic therapy. Conclusion. The presented illustrative
examples confirm individualization of treatment is mandatory in very old
patients with HCL.
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