The use of flow cytometry for immunophenotyping lymphoproliferative disorders in cats: a retrospective study of 19 cases

Abstract

Flow cytometric immunophenotyping is a useful step in the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative malignancies in human and veterinary medicine. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of this technique for the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders in cats. Nineteen cats were retrospectively enrolled in this study and allocated into two groups. Group 1 consisted of 13 cats with lymphoma, whereas group 2 consisted of 6 cats with non-neoplastic lymphoproliferative disorders. Fine-needle aspiration biopsies were analysed by flow cytometry in order to evaluate the immunophenotype. Flow cytometric analysis identified a neoplastic lymphoid population in 12 of the 13 cats of group 1, confirming the diagnosis of lymphoma and further characterizing it. The six cats in group 2 showed a mixed lymphoid population, which was not suggestive of a neoplastic disorder. Flow cytometry is a valuable and powerful tool for refining the diagnosis of feline lymphoproliferative disorders.

Flow cytometry for feline lymphoma: a retrospective study regarding pre-analytical factors possibly affecting the quality of samples

“…The lack of confidence in this technique is confirmed by the fact that feline samples represent only about 2% of the samples included in our FC database in the past 7 years (2009-2016). The study published by Guzera et al, 9 and the present study, dispute this common belief, because a high number of samples in both studies were likely to be processed and to be diagnostic. In the present study, 75% of samples were finally processed for FC; of these, only 20% were non-diagnostic and they had a lower cellular concentration than the diagnostic samples.…”

“…Flow cytometry FC was performed on tissue aspirates collected in a liquid medium (either saline solution or RPMI 1640) or on effusions collected in EDTA tubes with an adaptation of a previously published procedure. 9 Prior to labelling, all samples were counted via an automated haematology analyser (Sysmex XT-2000iV) to assess cellularity. Also, a visual inspection of the sample was made by the operator, to assess both the total volume of the sample and the presence of artefacts such as gross haemocontamination, clots, necrotic material or any other abnormality.…”

Fine needle aspiration of abdominal organs: a review of current recommendations for achieving a diagnostic sample

“…Flow cytometry uses fluorescent-labelled antibodies to evaluate the expression of phenotypic markers, which provide rapid identification and quantification of a large number of cells. Flow cytometry can be performed on FNA specimens and has been shown to be an accurate method for classification of cell lineage for abdominal organ samples in lymphoma patients (Lastra et al 2015, Guzera et al 2016. However, this method requires at least 6×10 6 cells to be mixed with serum or cell preservative and placed in a plain serum tube, and is ideally analysed within 24 hours of collection, although satisfactory results have been achieved in human samples that were several days old (Sigstad et al 2004, Colorado State University 2016a, b , Guzera et al 2016.…”

Flow cytometry based profiling of leukocytes: A new method for diagnosis of tropical theileriosis in crossbred cattle

“…Flow cytometry is a powerful tool for enumeration of lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood, characterization of the composition of complex cell populations involved in clinical disorders, immunophenotyping [ 7 ], cross-matching of tissues in organ transplantation and characterization of lymphomas and leukemias, etc. In comparison with traditional methods, flow cytometry based assays are more rapid, quantitative, and precise and can be used for diagnosis of various clinical disorders.…”

“…In comparison with traditional methods, flow cytometry based assays are more rapid, quantitative, and precise and can be used for diagnosis of various clinical disorders. Flow cytometry has emerged as one of the new technologies in veterinary clinical laboratories for diagnosis of various disorders [ 7 - 11 ].…”