Immunological detection of neuroblastoma cells in bone marrow harvested for autologous transplantation.

In about 50% of patients with stage IV neuroblastoma, micrometastases are present in the bone marrow when it is harvested for an autograft to follow induction therapy, and the risk of graft contamination by neuroblastoma cells has been the rationale for the use of a purging procedure. However, bone marrow metastases are detected with trephine biopsies which only explore the sites biopsied and do not reflect potential contamination of the pooled marrow harvested for autograft. A two-colour fluorochrome labelling method is described which permits as few as 1 neuroblastoma cell in 100,000 normal bone marrow cells from the autograft to be detected. Three monoclonal antibodies (UJ13A, H11 and 11.14) which react with neuroblastoma cells are used as single reagent in combination with a fourth anti-panleucocyte antibody. This method requires only 2 h for the analysis of three million marrow cells from the autograft, and is more effective than alkaline phosphatase staining with the same monoclonal antibodies. Results were compared with conventional techniques (four biopsies and four aspirates) carried out at the same time in 34 consecutive patients. Of 18 cases with negative aspirates and biopsies, neuroblastoma cells were detected in two autografts by the immunological method. Of 16 cases with positive aspirates and/or biopsies, 10 autografts were positive by the immunological method and six were negative. Thus, marrow micrometastases were detected in 16 of the 34 patients, but the autograft contained malignant cells in only 12 of these patients and the immunological analysis demonstrated that the use of a purging procedure allowed the elimination of neuroblastoma cells from the autograft before its reinjection to the patients.