Minimal Residual Disease Assessment by Flowcytometry in Acute Myeloid Leukemia to Assess Response to Treatment and Impact Outcome

Abstract

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION I t was thought that successful treatment of AML is based only on the achievement of morphological CR (mCR), defined as less than 5% leukemic cells, counted by light microscopy, within a fully restored bone marrow cellularity. However, it is now clear that classical morphology examination neglects a minority of myeloid blasts that could survive after induction and consolidation cycles that is known as MRD. MPFC provides a quick and relatively inexpensive method for MRD detection, which is applicable to the vast majority of patients with AML. The aim of the current study was to assess the value of MRD monitoring by FCM in adult acute myeloid leukemia especially post induction of remission in order to determine efficacy of treatment, monitor remission status of the patient and predicting impending relapse. The cohort study was conducted on 50 patients with acute myeloid leukemia. They were recruited from Ain-Shams university hospitals, department of clinical hematology. They were at day 28 post induction /post consolidation. Each patient was subjected to (at time of diagnosis): BM aspiration, flow cytometric IPT on BM samples using a standard acute leukemic panel of MoAb for all patients and Initial cytogenetics.