Correlation of cytomorphology with flowcytometric immunophenotyping in acute myeloid leukemia

Morphological and immuno- flow cytometry assisted analysis of peripheral blood and bone marrow are mandatory investigations in the diagnosis of acute leukemia. Cytology and immunophenotyping complement each other primarily because they have as common object malignant cell phenotype as a whole. The aim of our study was to analyze correlations between cytology and immunophenotyping on a group of patients investigated for acute myeloid leukemia. In our study the degree of correlation between blast percentage determined by cytology and immunophenotyping was low (r=0.049). The degree of correlation between myeloperoxidase positivity in cytochemistry and immunophenotyping was also low, with better results for cytochemistry. Expression of immunophenotypic markers was consistent with the composition of our group regarding French-American-British classes, except for HLA-DR (49.0%), TdT (3.77%), CD14 (5.66%), CD15 (5.66%). We also discuss the importance of interpreting with caution positivity for erythroid and megakaryocytic markers and differential diagnosis of cases simultaneously expressing CD7 and CD56. In conclusion, interpretation of immunophenotyping by flow citometry, done in close conjunction with morphology, is mandatory to facilitate the use of optimized sample processing methods and of standardized panels, for both appropriate diagnosis and follow-up.