4 in every 100 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) had abnormal liver function tests (LFT) at diagnosis in a study involving >2,300 individuals. Participants were seen at Mayo Clinic between 1993 and 2016. Investigators looked at baseline liver dysfunction prevalence, proportion of patients with LFT abnormalities, time to first therapy, and overall survival. Among the results:

• 4% of patients had abnormal LFT at diagnosis.
• 21% of these patients had advanced Rai stage, vs 6% of those with normal LFT results.
• They also had lower hemoglobin and platelet counts.
• 1 in every 10 patients with normal LFTs at diagnosis developed liver dysfunction during follow-up.
• Patients with abnormal LFTs at diagnosis were nearly twice as likely to experience shorter overall survival than those with normal results.
• Time to first therapy was not different between the 2 groups.
• CLL was seen in liver tissue in ~one-fourth of 52 patients who underwent liver biopsy.