Flow cytometric cell sorting combined with molecular chimerism analysis to detect minimal recurrent leukemia: good news and bad news

• Published in: Bone marrow transplantation (Basingstoke) Vol. 19; no. 11; pp. 1157 - 1161
• Main Authors: LAMB, L. S, ROBBINS, N. F, ABHYANKAR, S, JOYCE, M, STETLER-STEVENSON, M, HENSLEE-DOWNEY, P. J, GEE, A. P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing Group 01-06-1997
• Subjects: Adolescent; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Bone marrow; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Bone marrow, stem cells transplantation. Graft versus host reaction; Child; Chimera; Chimerism; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Leukemia; Medical sciences; Minimal residual disease; Neoplasm, Residual; News; Phenotypes; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - diagnosis; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - therapy; Stem cell transplantation; Transfusions. Complications. Transfusion reactions. Cell and gene therapy; Human; Flow cytometry; Cell sorter; Relapse; Transfusion; Acute; Homograft; Minimal residual disease; Malignant hemopathy; Case study; Polymerase chain reaction; Treatment; Lymphoproliferative syndrome; Adolescent; Bone marrow; Graft; Chimerism; Diagnosis; Acute lymphocytic leukemia; Molecular biology; Child
• ISSN: 0268-3369; 1476-5365
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bmt.1700800

Allogeneic BMT offers the possibility of cure for a variety of hematopoietic malignancies, but disease relapse remains a major cause of treatment failure. This report describes two cases in which flow cytometric cell sorting (FACS) and molecular chimerism analysis were combined to increase the sensitivity of minimal residual disease (MRD) detection. In the first case this approach was used to demonstrate that a suspicious phenotype was not recurrent leukemia, thus preventing the use of potentially toxic therapy. In the second case the recurrence of a leukemia which was undetectable by conventional analysis was confirmed. The potential benefits of combining these MRD detection methods are discussed.