The diagnostic role of flow cytometry immunophenotyping analysis in 11 cases of aggressive NK-cell leukemia

Abstract:

Objective To explore the diagnostic role of flow cytometry（FCM） immunophenotyping and the clinical and laboratory characteristics of aggressive NK-cell leukemia（ANKL）.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on clinical data of 11 patients diagnosed of ANKL in West China Hospital from January 2019 to December 2019. Bone marrow cytomorphology，immunophenotype and pathological findings were collected and analyzed.Results All patients suffered from fever accompanied with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis（HLH）. Hemophagocytic cells were found in bone marrow smears of 8 cases. FCM revealed an immunophenotype of CD2⁺sCD3^-CD4^-CD8^-CD56⁺CD19^- in all 11 cases of ANKL. The expression of CD45 and CD56 increased（P=0.048），and the volume of cells was relatively large（P=0.000）. CD16^- was found in 5 patients，and partial or complete loss of CD7 expression was identified in 6 patients. Immunohistochemical tests were performed on 8 patients，and the results were CD3ε⁺，granzyme B⁺，and EBER1/2-ISH⁺.Conclusion The immunophenotype of ANKL has unique characteristics and is of great significance in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of ANKL. Timely and differential diagnosis of ANKL can be achieved by comprehensive analysis of clinical characteristics， bone marrow cell morphology，immunophenotype and immunohistochemistry.