Recent Trends in Flow Cytometry in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Leukaemia in Children

Overview

Flow cytometry has an important place in the diagnosis of acute leukaemia mainly for its rapidity and reliabilityin determination of cell lineage and developmental stage of pathological cells as compared with conventionalmethods. Although the method of flow cytometry has become nearly a routine approach for defining the surfacemembrane (to a lesser extent also intracytoplasmic) markers of leukaemic cells, it is a helpful means for detectionof a wide range of additional antigens, proteins and processes going on in the cell. Flow cytometry detects minimalresidual disease, early relapses and prognosis, which depends on the ability of cell proliferation and apoptosis, andalso their resistance to given treatment.

Key words:
acute childhood leukaemia, diagnosis, flow cytometry, monoclonal antibodies