Rationale for the clinical application of flow cytometry in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes: position paper of an International Consortium and the European LeukemiaNet Working Group

Abstract

An international working group within the European LeukemiaNet gathered, aiming to determine the role of flow cytometry (FC) in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). It was agreed that FC has a substantial application in disease characterization, diagnosis and prognosis. FC may also be useful in predicting treatment responses and monitoring novel and standard therapeutic regimens. In this article the rationale is discussed that flow cytometry should be integrated as a part of diagnostic and prognostic scoring systems in MDS.

Clinical and genetic predictors of prognosis in myelodysplastic syndromes

“…Attempts to standardize their performance and interpretation will help these measures gain clinical acceptance in the future. [33][34][35] In contrast, the identification of disease-associated somatic mutations is more straightforward and there is increasing evidence to support their use as prognostic biomarkers (Table 1). Advances in DNA sequencing have been used to discover a large number of genes mutated in patients with MDS.…”

Is There a Role for Flow Cytometry in the Evaluation of Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes?

“…Since then, the International Flow Cytometry Working Group (IMDSFlow) of the European Leukemia Net (ELN) established detailed guidelines on pre-analytical requirements for FCM procedures and minimum antibody panels including recommended antigen combinations [3,29]. IMDSFlow described, in detail, a rationale for clinical application of FCM in MDS patients [30]. ELN 2013 guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of adult MDS patients list FCM immunophenotyping as one of the recommended diagnostic procedures [31].…”

Immunophenotyping for diagnosis and prognosis in MDS: Ready for general application?

“…Finally, in patients with unilineage dysplasia (RCUD) FCM may identify multilineage dysplasia which is associated with worse prognosis [33].…”