Bone Marrow Basophil Evaluation in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Using Flow Cytometry.

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Oncology
• Immunology

Background:

• Basophils are implicated in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), but their bone marrow (BM) characteristics remain unclear.
• Traditional methods for assessing basophils lack reliability for BM evaluation, especially in non-CML MPN.
• Flow cytometry (FCM) offers a potential method for detailed BM basophil analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate BM basophil characteristics in MPN patients using FCM.
• To compare BM basophil profiles with peripheral blood (PB) basophils.
• To assess the diagnostic utility of BM basophil indices in distinguishing MPN from other conditions.

Main Methods:

• Bone marrow (BM) basophils from 101 MPN patients were analyzed by FCM for levels and CD63/CD203c expression.
• Peripheral blood (PB) basophils were counted using a standard blood analyzer.
• MPN basophil characteristics were compared to healthy controls and myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS) patients.

Main Results:

• MPN patients exhibited elevated BM basophil levels and CD203c expression compared to controls.
• BM basophil levels showed a weak but statistically significant difference from PB basophil levels.
• BM basophil indices, especially the basophil/lymphocyte (baso/lym) ratio, were more effective than PB indices in discriminating non-CML MPN from non-hematopoietic disorders.
• Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) showed distinct basophil profiles compared to normal, reactive, non-CML MPN, and MDS groups.

Conclusions:

• BM basophil analysis via FCM, particularly the baso/lym ratio, improves MPN identification.
• BM basophil indices demonstrate superior discriminatory power for non-CML MPN compared to PB indices.
• FCM-based BM basophil analysis presents a promising tool for MPN screening and diagnosis.