A series of case studies illustrating the role of flow cytometry in the diagnostic work-up of myelodysplastic syndromes

Cytometry B Clin Cytom. 2023 Jan;104(1):87-97. doi: 10.1002/cyto.b.22061. Epub 2022 Feb 18.

Abstract

Current guidelines recommend flow cytometric analysis as part of the diagnostic assessment of patients with cytopenia suspected for myelodysplastic syndrome. Herein we describe the complete work-up of six cases using multimodal integrated diagnostics. Flow cytometry assessments are illustrated by plots from conventional and more recent analysis tools. The cases demonstrate the added value of flow cytometry in case of hypocellular, poor quality, or ambiguous bone marrow cytomorphology. Moreover, they demonstrate how immunophenotyping results support clinical decision-making in inconclusive and clinically 'difficult' cases.

Keywords: MDS; cytopenia; dysplasia; flow cytometry; integrated diagnostics.

MeSH terms

  • Bone Marrow
  • Bone Marrow Cells
  • Flow Cytometry / methods
  • Humans
  • Immunophenotyping
  • Myelodysplastic Syndromes* / diagnosis