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My Blood Test Showed My Lymphs As High, Should I Be Concerned?

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Published on September 19, 2019


What Does High Lymphs Mean in a Blood Test and Should I Be Concerned?

Question from Debra:

My blood test showed my lymphs (absolute) was 3.7 high. Should I be worried?

Dr. Leclair: 

The WHO definition of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) requires an absolute lymphocyte count of greater than 5.0 and the demonstration of a single clone of cells.

If your cells are not monoclonal, then you do not fit the definition of CLL.

What is lymphs in blood test?

Until the 1960's, doctors didn't know what lymphocytes did. Robert Good from the University of Minnesota researched the immune system, and came up with something called a B and a T cell. T lymphocytes are responsible for deciding whether to kill a particular antigen (infection) or recruit another cell (an NK cell) to kill it. The recruiting T cells are called T-4 cells. If the T lymph cells decide to kill the antigen themselves, they will aggregate to the area of the infection and cause swelling. The B cells come from the bone marrow and they make antibodies. The B cells have memory, and are responsible for you to have immunity after a vaccine or illness.  In a health immune system, there is a balance of T-4 cells (turn on immune system) and T-8 cells (turn off immune system). If there are too high of T-4 cell levels, your immune system is in overdrive. If your T-8 cell levels are too high, your immune system is not turned on. If presence of active lymphocytes are shown in a blood test, it means the immune system is activated. Lymphocyte doubling time is a blood test to see how long the cell lives. If you take the numbers from your absolute lymphocyte count and subtract the older number from the most current number, you would hope to see a smaller number each time. If the white count number doubles in one year, that signifies a more serious issue. 

What is lymphs absolute in blood test?

The basic definition of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is when a clone of lymphocytes account for a greater than 5.00 absolute lymphocyte count. The cells affected by CLL involve the immune system, luckily there are tools for boosting your immune system.  What does having healthy blood mean when you have CLL?  Blood tests usually look at a number of different factors, such as white count, hemoglobin and the platelet count. It's important to sit down with your doctor and discuss the different break downs of your blood work and what it means for your disease. When someone goes in for blood tests, the first blood test is usually for general screening and checks levels of liver and metabolic function. The doctor will look for any abnormalities in these results to determine if further screening is necessary. Abnormalities in hemoglobin or enzyme levels may signify that more blood work is needed. If lactic dehydrogenase is found in the blood stream at a high rate this would tell your doctor that something is going wrong in the blood. Testing for specific diseases might constitute a genetic test or a flow cytometry test.


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