Multiple myeloma, immunotherapy and minimal residual disease.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable heterogeneous hematological malignancy in which relapse is characterized by re-growth of residual tumor and immune suppression with a complex biology that affects many aspects of the disease and its response to treatment. The bone marrow microenvironment, including immune cells, plays a central role in MM pathogenesis, survival, and drug resistance. The advances in basic and translational research, introduction of novel agents, particularly combination therapies, improved indicators of quality of life and survival.

Monitoring of minimal residual disease in acute leukemia by multiparametric flow cytometry.

In this review, we discuss methodological principles and clinical applications of minimal residual disease (MRD) assays based on multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC). The introduction of methods for MRD detection has revolutionized monitoring of treatment response in acute leukemia. Great progress has been made in the development of wide array of flow cytometric techniques for rare event detection.

Possible prognostic value of nucleolar morphology in pathologic cells of B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) represents a heterogeneous disease with a very variable outcome. The reliable prognosis of this disease at the time of initial diagnosis is difficult to predict. The purpose of this preliminary study was to utilize the nucleolar morphology and to investigate the incidence of main nucleolar types in leukemic lymphocytes in B-CLL patients to assess their possible predictive value for the disease outcome, in correlation with immunophenotype parameters.

Quantitative identification of blood cell markers in human hematopoietic malignancies with diagnostic and prognostic significance.

Fluorescence intensity (FI) is the basis for classifying phenotypes by fluorescence-label flow cytometry. FI is of a relative value, but with calibration it can be expressed in stoichiometric units called molecules of equivalent soluble fluorochrome (MESF) that reflect the concentrations of the fluorescent conjugates and the receptors they stain. Flow cytometry allows in addition to the determination of positive cells, to establish even the intensity of fluorescent staining, that can be converted into antigen density.

The knowledge on the 3rd type hematogones could contribute to more precise detection of small numbers of precursor B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Bone marrow hematogones (benign B-lymphocyte precursors) may cause diagnostic problems due to their morphologic and immunophenotypic similarities with neoplastic lymphoblasts. Hematogone populations in presented study containing 358 bone marrow specimens of 251 individuals always exhibited a continuous and complete maturation spectrum of antigen expression typical for normal evolution of B-lineage precursors; lacking aberrant or asynchronous antigen expression. In contrast lymphoblasts of 19 bone marrows of precursors B-ALL patients showed maturation arrest and exhibited several immunophenotypic aberrancies.