It is reasonable to aim for a cure when facing
a rapidly lethal but curable disease, such as large
B-cell lymphoma or acute leukemia, despite the high
risk of serious complications. Currently, it is reasonable
not to submit older individuals with limited life
expectancies and a chronic, but not life-threatening
disease, such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, to
the toxicity of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and
rituximab,23 which may add a few months of survival
at a time when most patients might have died of a
disease other than cancer.