[Diagnosis and classification of leukemia]

Modern diagnosis and classification of leukemia are reviewed. The FAB (French, American, British) classification, introduced in the late 1970s has been the basis for most studies to date. During the 15 years since then, new categories such as M7 and M0 were added to the classification. The MIC proposal (morphology, immunology, cytogenetics) has been an important development which emerged from the knowledge about chromosomal changes and immunophenotyping. Improvement in diagnosis and classification will emerge from studies employing all the above techniques, including DNA analysis, in the 1990s.