Therefore, patients with early stage disease are usually followed closely without initiating treatment. Patients with more extensive disease or progressive cytopenias are eventually treated with cytotoxic agents, with or without prednisone, or with nucleoside analogues that promote apoptosis in the leukemic cells. The clinical outcome of the disease is determined both by the profound dysregulation of the immune system that results in infection and autoimmunity and by leukemic infiltration and destruction of organs. Autoimmune phenomena are common and frequently directed against hematopoietic cells, resulting in autoimmune hemolytic anemia (10-25%) or immune thrombocytopenia.