Cell marker analysis in hematopoietic neoplasias

In recent years, cell marker analysis has been applied to the study of hematologic neoplasias at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. This investigation has focused on the clinical application of a rapidly expanding methodology used either as adjunctive or alternative to conventional morphology which includes immunological, enzymatic and cytochemical markers. Samples from peripheral blood, bone marrow, serosal fluids and lymphoid tissues in more than 300 patients were surveyed. In addition, correlations were established between the phenotype of the malignant cells and the clinical, hematological and pathological features of the disease. We found that this type of analysis provides a most promising methodology for the diagnosis and classification of leukemias and lymphomas, as well as making it possible to learn further about the process of differentiation of normal and neoplastic mononuclear cells.