Emerging utility of flow cytometry in the diagnosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

Over the past 30 years the diagnosis of hematologic malignancies has shifted from being based almost exclusively on morphology and clinical data to include ancillary studies such as molecular studies, cytogenetics, and flow cytometry. In this regard, the diagnosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) has lagged behind the diagnosis of other hematological malignancies as it relies predominantly on clinical/laboratory findings and the absence of certain disease-defining translocations. According to the 2016 revision to the WHO guidelines, the diagnostic criteria for CMML includes: persistent monocytosis ( ≥1 × 109/L and at least 10% of the total number of leukocytes), the lack of satisfying the criteria for any other myeloproliferative neoplasm, the lack of disease-defining translocations (involving BCR-ABL, PDGFRA, PDGFRB, FGFR1, PCM1, and JAK2), less than 20% blasts, and either myelodysplasi a, an acquired clonal cytogenetic or molecular genetic abnormality in hematopoietic cells, and the exclusion of other causes of monocytosis [1].
Source: Leukemia Research - Category: Hematology Authors: Source Type: research