Flow cytometric parameters with little interexaminer variability for diagnosing low-grade myelodysplastic syndromes

Recent studies have suggested that flow cytometry (FCM) helps diagnose myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). However, appropriate FCM diagnostic parameters that are easily reproducible by different examiners remain unclarified. We found that "the Ly/Mbl CD45 ratio (mean fluorescence intensity [MFI] of CD45 on lymphocytes/MFI of CD45 on CD34+ myeloblasts)," "the percentage of CD34+ myeloblasts among all nucleated cells," and "the percentage of CD34+ B-cell precursors among all CD34+ cells" had little interexaminer variability. These parameters can be analyzed from one test tube for three-color FCM, and their analysis in combination can diagnose a certain percentage of low-grade MDS patients.