OBJECTIVE

To study the immunophenotyping of adult patients with acute leukemia and its association with the prognosis.

METHODS

Immunophenotyping was performed in 106 adult patients with acute leukemia by three-color flow cytometry analysis using CD34/SSC gating.

RESULTS

The antigens expressed in 71 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were mainly CD13, CD33, HLA-DR, CD34 and CD117. Lymphoid antigen expression was identified in 23.9% adult AML patients and CD56 antigen expression in 15.5% of the AML patients. In 29 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the expressed antigens were mainly HLA-DR, CD10, CD19, CD34 and CD7, and 34.5% of these patients were found to be positive for myeloid antigen expression. Complete remission (CR) rate in AML patients with lymphoid antigen expression after chemotherapy was lower than that in AML patients without lymphoid antigen expression (52.9% vs 77.8%, P<0.05), and no significant impact was noted of myeloid antigen expression in ALL on the CR of the patients (70.0% vs 94.7%, P>0.05). The CR rate in AML with CD56 antigen expression was lower than that in AML without CD56 expression (36.4% vs 78.3%, P<0.025), and the CR rate in CD34+ AML was lower than that in CD34- AML (56.0% vs 80.4%, P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Gating of CD45/SSC can eliminate the interference of normal cells to render more reliable immunophenotyping results. The expressions of CD56+, CD34+, lymphoid antigen in adult AML patients, who have lower CR rate, often signify poor prognosis.