Immunophenotypic Characterization of Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia by Flow Cytometry; Association with Disease Prognosis

Background and Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by clonal proliferation and accumulation of long-lived B lymphocytes within the peripheral blood, bone marrow, and secondary lymphoid organs. In this study, immunophenotypic characteristics of leukemic cells and their association with disease prognosis were investigated in CLL patients.
A case-control study was carried out in 25 CLL patients and 15 healthy individuals. Complete blood count was performed for all subjects. CLL patients were classified into different clinical stages based on the Rai staging system. For immunophenotypic characterization of leukemic cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from CLL patients and stained using specific monoclonal antibodies. They were then analyzed by flow cytometry.
The CD5, CD19, CD20, and CD23 were expressed significantly more in advanced clinical stages of CLL compared to those in primary stages (P= 0.03, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.02, respectively). The mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of CD38 in advanced progressive stages of CLL patients was higher than that of primary non-progressive stages (P=0.02).
Our results indicated significant immunophenotypic profile and higher CD38 expression in CLL patients with advanced clinical stages. These immunophenotypic characteristics are useful biomarkers for the disease monitoring and therapy.