Screening tests for Sezary cells in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas

Blood samples from normal individuals (n = 7), from patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (Sezary syndrome = 7; mycosis fungoides = 18) and from patients with chronic benign skin disease (n = 8) were examined for the presence of Sezary cells. The samples were analysed using a Coulter model S Plus IV with a three Cell Population upgrade, and a Becton Dickinson FACS analyser; and the results were compared with those obtained from morphological examination of peripheral blood films. Using the FACS analyser a population of aneuploid cells was only identified in two out of eight patients with confirmed circulating Sezary cells. This was in contrast to the results from the Coulter S Plus IV which detected an abnormality in six out of the eight samples with confirmed circulating Sezary cells. These results indicate that leukocyte volume analysis is a useful, additional screening tool for the identification of Sezary cells.