A correlation study of immunophenotypic, cytogenetic, and clinical features of 180 AML patients in China

New WHO classification has been widely applied in the diagnosis of leukemia. To elucidate the immunophenotype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and characterize the correlation among morphological, immunological, cytogenetic, and clinical features, we studied the bone marrow immunophenotypes of 180 AML patients in China by flow cytometry. The results showed that CD34, CD2, CD14, CD19, CD56, and HLA-DR were correlated with FAB subtypes. Amongst the 180 patients enrolled in this study, 122 cases were also subjected to karyotype analysis by G-banding technology and abnormal karyotypes were detected in 69 out of 122 patients. Correlation assay showed that t(8;21) was only present in 16 AML-M2 patients, and strongly associated with the individual or combinational expressions of CD15/CD19/CD34/CD56. As to M3, although lymphoid lineage antigens were observed in a considerable number of patients, they were never detected in t(15;17) positive patients. The expressions of CD22, CD56, and TdT showed significant correlation with the overall presence of abnormal karyotype. Additionally, the expressions of CD4, CD7, CD14, CD56, and TdT were positively correlated with clinical features such as white blood cell count, platelet count, and patient's age. In conclusion, immunophenotype analysis was useful for AML diagnosis and classification. At the same time, the data also suggested that the karyotype abnormalities and clinical features were tightly linked with abnormal antigen expression characteristics in AML patients. As one of the largest correlative study performed in China, the results highlighted the importance of a morphological, immunological, and cytogenetic classification of AML that might constitute a working basis for future studies aimed at a better definition of clinicopathological features and optimal treatment strategy for these leukemias.