OBJECTIVES:  To appraise the literature relating age as a determinant of therapeutic decisions in CLL and search for evidence of ageism in the access to treatment of elderly patients. METHODS:   Electronic databases [MedLine/PubMed] and grey literature [Google Scholar, congress proceedings, technical reports] were searched to identify publications investigating ageism in oncology, with a particular focus on 1) CLL treatment, 2) economic and social costs and 3) social value of the elderly; in order to comprehensively address the complex problematic of age discrimination. Studies in English or Spanish published until December 2015 were considered. RESULTS: A total of 31 publications were considered relevant to review: 8 articles related to the influence of age in decision making regarding CLL treatment, 13 studies about the cost-of-illness on elderly, and 10 publications underlining the value of the contribution of older persons to society. The results highlight that elderly CLL patients (>70 years) are treated less effectively and frequently (p<0.001), and therefore have lower response rates (p<0.001), than younger ones. Clinical trials generally include patients who are 10 to 15 years younger than the median age at CLL diagnosis; therefore there is less consensus on how to manage aged patients. According to this, health status should be assessed by patients’ fitness rather than by their chronologic age. The social contribution of older people mainly occurs in terms of unpaid support (informal work, volunteering or within the family), representing 8.5% of the GDP in Spain. This contribution can be fostered by helping them to maintain good health. To accomplish this goal, new targeted therapies, which represent a profound advance in CLL treatment, can be especially useful due to their high efficacy and favorable benefit/risk ratio.   CONCLUSIONS:  Discrimination by the age of CLL patients can be an important limiting factor to access to new treatment alternatives.