Richter syndrome

Richter's syndrome (RS), also known as Richter's transformation, is a transformation of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or hairy cell leukemia into a fast-growing diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a variety of non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is refractory to treatment and carries a bad prognosis. There is also a less common variant in which the CLL changes into a Hodgkin's lymphoma. Rarely, transformations to a form of myeloid leukemia have been observed. These extraordinarily rare transformations carry a very poor prognosis.Richter's transformation affects about 5% of CLL patients at some point during their lives. Richter's syndrome (RS), also known as Richter's transformation, is a transformation of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or hairy cell leukemia into a fast-growing diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a variety of non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is refractory to treatment and carries a bad prognosis. There is also a less common variant in which the CLL changes into a Hodgkin's lymphoma. Rarely, transformations to a form of myeloid leukemia have been observed. These extraordinarily rare transformations carry a very poor prognosis.Richter's transformation affects about 5% of CLL patients at some point during their lives. Symptoms of Richter’s transformation in a CLL patient include fever (without infection), elevated serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase, and rapidly enlarging lymph nodes. While about 8% of all CLL patients will have elevated levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), more than 50% of CLL patients with Richter's transformation will have elevated LDH levels.