Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Enumeration of CD34+ blasts by immunohistochemistry in bone marrow biopsies from MDS patients may have significant impact on final WHO classification

Saft, Leonie ; Timar, Botond and Porwit, Anna LU (2020) In Journal of Hematopathology 13(2). p.79-88
Abstract

The percentage of blasts cells in the bone marrow (BM) of MDS patients is one of the key parameters for MDS classification and for the differential diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Currently, the gold standard to determine the blast percentage is conventional cytomorphology. To assess the possible impact of blast cell enumeration in BM biopsies from MDS patients on the final WHO classification using CD34 immunohistochemistry (IHC) a total of 156 BM samples from MDS and MDS-AML patients were studied and compared to blast counts by cytomorphology (CM). Eighty-nine BM aspirates were also studied by flow cytometry (FCM). Percentages of CD34+ blasts by IHC were determined blindly by two hematopathologists. Automated CD34-cell... (More)

The percentage of blasts cells in the bone marrow (BM) of MDS patients is one of the key parameters for MDS classification and for the differential diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Currently, the gold standard to determine the blast percentage is conventional cytomorphology. To assess the possible impact of blast cell enumeration in BM biopsies from MDS patients on the final WHO classification using CD34 immunohistochemistry (IHC) a total of 156 BM samples from MDS and MDS-AML patients were studied and compared to blast counts by cytomorphology (CM). Eighty-nine BM aspirates were also studied by flow cytometry (FCM). Percentages of CD34+ blasts by IHC were determined blindly by two hematopathologists. Automated CD34-cell count was performed in 25 cases. Good overall agreement was found for CM and FCM with respect to critical blast thresholds (5%, 10%, 20%) (p < 0.05). However, in 17% of patients, CD34+ blast counts by IHC were higher as compared to CM with possible impact on MDS subclassification. In 7 of 21 AML patients, diagnosis was established on BM histology, while the blast percentage by CM was below the AML threshold. The assessment of CD34+ cells by IHC showed high interobserver agreement (Spearman R 0.95, p < 0.01), while automated CD34 counts were not optimal due to interference with other cellular and stromal elements. BM histology including CD34 IHC improves the diagnostic accuracy in MDS and AML. The quantification of blast cells should be based on the integration of all three methods for reliable disease classification and risk assessment.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Blast percentage, Bone marrow biopsy, CD34 immunohistochemistry, Cytomorphology, Flow cytometry
in
Journal of Hematopathology
volume
13
issue
2
pages
10 pages
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85084123983
ISSN
1868-9256
DOI
10.1007/s12308-020-00394-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0a082294-3c42-4843-9946-452dcb79ab65
date added to LUP
2021-01-14 09:17:18
date last changed
2022-04-26 23:34:54
@article{0a082294-3c42-4843-9946-452dcb79ab65,
  abstract     = {{<p>The percentage of blasts cells in the bone marrow (BM) of MDS patients is one of the key parameters for MDS classification and for the differential diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Currently, the gold standard to determine the blast percentage is conventional cytomorphology. To assess the possible impact of blast cell enumeration in BM biopsies from MDS patients on the final WHO classification using CD34 immunohistochemistry (IHC) a total of 156 BM samples from MDS and MDS-AML patients were studied and compared to blast counts by cytomorphology (CM). Eighty-nine BM aspirates were also studied by flow cytometry (FCM). Percentages of CD34+ blasts by IHC were determined blindly by two hematopathologists. Automated CD34-cell count was performed in 25 cases. Good overall agreement was found for CM and FCM with respect to critical blast thresholds (5%, 10%, 20%) (p &lt; 0.05). However, in 17% of patients, CD34+ blast counts by IHC were higher as compared to CM with possible impact on MDS subclassification. In 7 of 21 AML patients, diagnosis was established on BM histology, while the blast percentage by CM was below the AML threshold. The assessment of CD34+ cells by IHC showed high interobserver agreement (Spearman R 0.95, p &lt; 0.01), while automated CD34 counts were not optimal due to interference with other cellular and stromal elements. BM histology including CD34 IHC improves the diagnostic accuracy in MDS and AML. The quantification of blast cells should be based on the integration of all three methods for reliable disease classification and risk assessment.</p>}},
  author       = {{Saft, Leonie and Timar, Botond and Porwit, Anna}},
  issn         = {{1868-9256}},
  keywords     = {{Blast percentage; Bone marrow biopsy; CD34 immunohistochemistry; Cytomorphology; Flow cytometry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{79--88}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Journal of Hematopathology}},
  title        = {{Enumeration of CD34+ blasts by immunohistochemistry in bone marrow biopsies from MDS patients may have significant impact on final WHO classification}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12308-020-00394-9}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s12308-020-00394-9}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}