Prognostic significance of flow cytometric immunophenotyping in acute myeloid leukemia.

The prognostic significance of flow cytometric immunophenotyping (FCI) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been controversial. In this study, we re-investigated the possible role of FCI in the prediction of AML relapse following standard chemotherapy. A total of 209 AML cases with follow-up information were analyzed. Among those, 78 cases were in remission (M:F=44/34; mean age of 48.9 years) and 131 had relapse (M:F=71/60; mean age of 51.3 years). The expression of CD34, HLA-DR or a combination of both was significantly different between the remission and relapse groups for all AML as well as AML without t(15;17). None of the pammyeloid markers or their combinations analyzed was found to correlate with treatment outcomes. Complex cytogenetic abnormalities were more likely associated with relapse group than with remission group, but were not statistically significant after excluding AML with t(15;17). In conclusion, FCI is useful in predicting treatment outcome and disease relapse in AML.