Analyses of large panels of CLL cases revealed that certain IgV gene family members, which could be hypermutated or UM, were expressed significantly more frequently in CLL than would be expected from their expression in the IgV gene repertoire of normal B cells.28 Although there is evidence favoring the idea that BCR stimulation by the antigen could have an important role in CLL evolution, concerns have been raised against this possibility. Here, BCR is linked to B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.