Kanti R. Rai, MD, professor of medicine, Northwell Health and Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University, explains the importance of attention to age when treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which is a typically elderly patient population.

In the past, clinical trials excluded elderly patients (aged 70 years and older), which are the patients who make up most of the CLL patient population. Due to these exclusions, there were no improvements in outcomes for patients with CLL for decades, says Rai.