[The significance of enzyme cytochemical methods in the classification of hemoblastoses]

Selected cytoenzymological methods together with the PAS reaction often permit more precise identifying normal and tumorous blood cells and thus determining the type of hemoblastosis. The cells of the myeloid neutrophil series are characterized by the activity of peroxidase and naphtol-AS-D-chloracetate esterase, monocytic elements by the activity of a nonspecific esterase sensitive to fluoride, the tumorous cells of the red series by the PAS positivity and paranuclear positivity of acid phosphatase. Some tumorous lymphoblasts have gross PAS--positive granules in the plasma, others, probably of T-origin, paranuclear focal positivity of acid phosphatase. Hematological classification of acute hemoblastoses does not exactly correspond to Löffler's cytochemical classification; of diagnostic and therapeutically considerable importance is the synthetic evaluation of the hematological finding and of interpretive possibilities of individual cytochemical methods.