Flow diagnostics essential code: a simple and brief format for the summary of leukemia phenotyping

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Immunophenotyping
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Flow cytometry is crucial for acute leukemia (AL) diagnosis.
• Existing reports lack a standardized short summary format.
• A need exists for concise flow cytometry data for databases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a standardized format for summarizing flow cytometry results in childhood acute leukemia.
• To create a consensus-based pro-forma for clinical flow cytometry reports.

Main Methods:

• The Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica--Berlin Frankfurt Muenster (AIEOP-BFM) Flow Network collaborated.
• Multiple meetings and communications established consensus on essential diagnostic elements.
• A pro-forma was designed for summarizing flow cytometry findings.

Main Results:

• The Flow Diagnostics Essential (FDE) Code was developed.
• This code standardizes the reporting of malignant clone infiltration extent.
• It includes antigen expression levels (strong, weak, negative) and diagnostic conclusions.

Conclusions:

• The FDE Code provides a brief summary of the diagnostic immunophenotype in childhood AL.
• This format is applicable to other malignancies diagnosed by flow cytometry.
• The FDE Code can be integrated into clinical reports and multicenter trial databases.