Flow cytometric analysis of hairy cell leukemia using right-angle light scatter.

We report on an easy and reliable method for the enumeration of the typical cells present in the blood, bone marrow, and spleen of patients with hairy cell leukemia. Samples of five patients were analyzed. In three patients, the hairy cells were very accurately followed during treatment with alpha-interferon, using right-angle light scatter to differentiate them from other leukocytes present in total blood. Excellent correlation was obtained with the microscopic hairy cell enumeration. Additional verification by cell sorting and immunofluorescence studies confirmed these findings.