If the spleen is enlarged, it may be removed in a surgical procedure known as splenectomy . This usually causes a remission of the disease. Chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation are rarely used in the treatment of hairy cell leukemia. Biological therapy or immunotherapy, where the body's own immune cells are used to fight cancer is also being investigated in clinical trials for hairy cell leukemia. A substance called interferon that is produced by the white blood cells of the body has shown some promise in treating the disease and is being investigated further.
Most patients have excellent prognosis and can expect to live ten years or longer.
The disease may remain silent for years with treatment. Since the cause for the disease is unknown and there are no specific risk factors, there is no known prevention. Anemia A condition where there is low iron in the blood due to a deficiency of red blood cells. The spongy tissue inside the large bones in the body which is responsible for making the red blood cells, white blood cells and the platelets. A procedure where a needle is inserted into the large bones of the hip or spine and a small piece of marrow is removed for microscopic examination.