The Quiet Beginnings of Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is the most common leukemia in adults, yet its earliest warning sign often hides in plain sight. Monoclonal B cell lymphocytosis, or MBL, affects millions of adults who may never know they carry this precursor to CLL. In this episode of Tomorrow's Cure from Mayo Clinic, host Cathy Wurzer talks with hematologist Dr. Sameer Parikh and researchers Dr. Susan Slager and Dr. Gerald Marti about how MBL was discovered, what it reveals about inherited risk, and why it matters for infections, second cancers and long term health.

The conversation explores how large population studies at Mayo Clinic, advanced genomics, and emerging tools like artificial intelligence and liquid biopsy could change when and how CLL is found, monitored and treated. Listeners will also hear candid discussion about ethics, anxiety and watchful waiting, and how Mayo Clinic's PreCure initiative is rethinking cancer prevention clinics for people living with early warning signs in their blood.

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