Genetic alterations involved in the pathogenesis of CLL. Different studies in large series of sporadic CLL have identified somatic driver mutations (red)^7 ,8  and susceptibility loci (yellow) related to the pathogenesis of the disease. Furthermore, germ line mutations outside a familiar context in CLL have been identified in ATM (light blue). Speedy et al, for the first time, describe germ line mutations in a familial context in CLL targeting the shelterin complex (dark blue; POT1, TERF2IP, and ACD). The overlap between genetic variants at different levels (somatic driver mutations, susceptibility loci, and germ line mutations) as indicated comprises just a handful of genes.