The diagnosis of primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) has been made by quantifying circulating plasma cells (cPCs) morphologically on a peripheral blood (PB) smear. However, this technique is not sufficiently sensitive. Multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC) provides a readily available and highly sensitive method to identify and quantify cPCs that could complement PB smear assessment. However, an optimal quantitative cutoff for cPCs by MFC to identify pPCL has not been established. Thus, a total of 591 patients newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) patients who had their PB samples evaluated morphologically by PB smear and immunophenotypically by MFC prior to beginning therapy were evaluated. The presence of >200 cPCs/microliter (μL) by MFC (N = 25 or 5% of the total population) was chosen to identify patients with >5% cPCs by PB smear with a specificity of 99% and a sensitivity of 77%. For patients with >200 cPCs/μL by MFC compared to the remainder of the cohort, the median TTNT was 18 vs. 30 months and the median OS was 38 vs. 70 months respectively. Thus, MFC assessment of PB can be utilized in conjunction with the morphological assessment of a PB smear to aid in improving the identification of pPCL among NDMM patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Meeting Coverage
- ASCO – Lung CancerASCO.20 Virtual Scientific Program, held May 29 - 31, brought professionals from all over the world together to hear the brightest minds in oncology present state-of-the-art treatment modalities and new therapies.
- AACR-2020The American Association for Cancer Research is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research.
- ACC 2020The American College of Cardiology decided to cancel ACC.20/WCC due to COVID-19, which was scheduled to take place March 28-30 in Chicago. However, ACC.20/WCC Virtual Meeting continues to release cutting edge science and practice changing updates for cardiovascular professionals on demand and free through June 2020.
-
ASCO 2019The 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, taking place May 31-June 4 in Chicago, will bring together more than 32,000 oncology professionals from across the globe. The theme of this year’s conference is Caring for Every Patient, Learning From Every Patient.