Serologic studies of the diagnosis and nosology of human leukemia.

Nonhuman primate antisera to human leukemia-associated antigens and to normal T- and B-lymphocyte antigens are useful reagents for detecting and classifying leukemic cells in a microcytotoxicity assay. These antisera are able to distinguish lymphocytic from myeloid leukemia cells, and can also identify acute myelomonocytic leukemia and chronic myelocytic leukemia blastic crisis cells from cells of other types of leukemia. The advantages and disadvantages of the reagents in the nosology and clinical management of leukemia patients are discussed in depth. However, despite certain shortcomings in the microcytotoxicity assays, the reagents and method do provide the necessary tools for antigenic isolation and identification. Purified antigen may then serve to open new horizons in the detection, diagnosis, classification and perhaps therapy of human leukemia.