PROGNOSIS OF CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC-LEUKEMIA FROM INFRARED-SPECTRA OF LYMPHOCYTES

Peripheral mononuclear cells obtained from blood of normal individuals and from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were invest igated by infrared spectroscopy and multivariate statistical analysis. Not only are the spectra of CLL cells different from those of normal cells, but hierarchical clustering also separated the CLL cells into a number of subclusters, based on their different DNA content, a fact w hich may provide a useful diagnostic tool for staging (progression of the disease) and multiple clone detection. Moreover, there is evidence for a correlation between the increased amount of DNA in the CLL cell s and the in-vivo doubling time of the lymphocytes in a given patient. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.