Automated pattern-guided principal component analysis vs expert-based immunophenotypic classification of B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders: a step forward in the standardization of clinical immunophenotyping

Leukemia. 2010 Nov;24(11):1927-33. doi: 10.1038/leu.2010.160. Epub 2010 Sep 16.

Abstract

Immunophenotypic characterization of B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (B-CLPD) is becoming increasingly complex due to usage of progressively larger panels of reagents and a high number of World Health Organization (WHO) entities. Typically, data analysis is performed separately for each stained aliquot of a sample; subsequently, an expert interprets the overall immunophenotypic profile (IP) of neoplastic B-cells and assigns it to specific diagnostic categories. We constructed a principal component analysis (PCA)-based tool to guide immunophenotypic classification of B-CLPD. Three reference groups of immunophenotypic data files-B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemias (B-CLL; n = 10), mantle cell (MCL; n = 10) and follicular lymphomas (FL; n = 10)--were built. Subsequently, each of the 175 cases studied was evaluated and assigned to either one of the three reference groups or to none of them (other B-CLPD). Most cases (89%) were correctly assigned to their corresponding WHO diagnostic group with overall positive and negative predictive values of 89 and 96%, respectively. The efficiency of the PCA-based approach was particularly high among typical B-CLL, MCL and FL vs other B-CLPD cases. In summary, PCA-guided immunophenotypic classification of B-CLPD is a promising tool for standardized interpretation of tumor IP, their classification into well-defined entities and comprehensive evaluation of antibody panels.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antigens, CD / immunology
  • Automation
  • B-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • B-Lymphocytes / pathology
  • Female
  • Flow Cytometry / methods
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin A / immunology
  • Immunophenotyping / methods
  • Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / immunology*
  • Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / pathology
  • Lymphoma / immunology
  • Lymphoma / pathology
  • Lymphoma, Follicular / immunology
  • Lymphoma, Follicular / pathology
  • Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell / immunology
  • Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell / pathology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests

Substances

  • Antigens, CD
  • Immunoglobulin A