A Novel Multicolor Flow Cytometry Scoring System for the Diagnosis and Prognostic Stratification of Myelodysplastic...

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a class of myeloid neoplasms featuring inefficient maturation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells, blood cytopenia, and a high risk of leukemia onset. The diagnosis of MDS remains a challenging task owing to its complexity, heterogeneity, and the lack of specific characteristics.

To look for an easy and inexpensive diagnostic method for MDS, we tried to establish an FCM scoring systems (FCSS) with a combination of antibodies for diagnosis and prognostic stratification of MDS. This FCSS adopted four parameters; i.e., the frequency of myeloblasts in nucleated cells, the ratio between pro-B cells and CD117+ cells, the ratio of CD45 mean fluorescence intensity between lymphocytes and myeloblasts, and the ratio of SSC peak values between mature granulocytes and lymphocytes.

We tested the correlation between the total FCSS score with conventional IPSS-R. Additionally, the correlation between the score of each FCSS parameter and IPSS-R was also evaluated. We found that total FCSS score had a positive correlation with IPSS-R, while FCSS parameter 1 and 4 were also correlated with IPSS-R. Furthermore, this FCSS had a sound sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of MDS.

The FCSS represents a convenient and affordable approach for the diagnosis and prognostic stratification of MDS.