ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC-LEUKEMIA (ALL) - DETECTION OF MINIMAL RESIDUAL DISEASE (MRD) AT FLOW-CYTOMETRY

In the present study the usefulness of a method combining multiple sta ining direct immunofluorescence technique together with flow cytometry in order to predict relapse in ALL is analyzed in a group of 47 patie nts (11 T-ALL and 36 B-ALL). Results show that this method can be appl ied to at least two-thirds of all ALL patients being specially useful for the T-ALL cases (100% vs 56%) as this corresponding to the inciden ce of ''aberrant'' phenotypes. The detection of an increase in the per centage of bone marrow cells displaying ''aberrant'' phenotypes in two consecutive samples from the same patient is of great help on predict ing relapse (sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 75%).