Immunophenotype of acute myeloid leukemia: correlation with morphological characteristics and therapy response.

Abstract

Surface antigen analysis of leukemic blast cells with monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) has become a routine technique for evaluating patients with acute leukemia, and contributes to the diagnosis and classification of acute myeloid leukemia’s (AML) (Drexler et al. 1988; Bain and Catovsky 1990; Cheson et al. 1990). In particular, reactivity with MoAbs recognizing myeloid antigens can assign cases of poorly differentiated leukemia to the myeloid lineage (FAB MO) (Lee et al. 1987; Bennett et al. 1991), and MoAbs reacting with platelet glycoproteins and immature erythroid cells are used to diagnose megakaryoblastic leukemia (FAB M7) and erythro-leukemia (FAB M6) (Bennett et al. 1985; San Miguel et al. 1987). Moreover, immunophenotyping identifies acute leukemia’s with both myeloid and lymphoid features, an interesting subgroup of as yet unknown prognostic significance (Cross et al. 1988; Kaplan et al. 1989; Ludwig et al. 1990; Catovsky et al. 1991).