Test
From haematologyetc.co.uk
Background
Typical CLL can be diagnosed with some confidence using flow cytometry. CLL cells express low levels of B-cell receptor associated molecules (e.g. CD19, CD79B and sIg) together with CD5 and CD23 in typical cases. However, atypical cases are regularly encoutered and can cause diagnosic difficulty.
Immunophenotype of CLL | |||
---|---|---|---|
Major markers useful in CLL diagnosis | |||
Marker | Freq | Level | Comment |
κ/λ | wk/ abs | Expect weak or absent restricted κ or λ expression | |
FMC7 | Wk | May be expressed by atypical cases, generally absent | |
CD5 | Mod | Characteristic of CLL, usually less strong than on T cells | |
CD10 | - | Rare in CLL, consider FL if detected | |
CD11C | Wk | Expressed in some cases, but tends to be weak | |
CD19 | Wk/ mod | Expression is expected, but less strong than normal B cells | |
CD20 | Wk | Expression is expected, but characteristically weak | |
CD23 | Wk/ Mod | Characteristic of CLL, although can rarely be weak or absent | |
CD25 | Wk/ Mod | Expressed by many cases of CLL but characteristically weak | |
CD38 | Wk | Expressed by some cases of CLL, typically weak | |
CD43 | Wk/ Mod | Similar to CD200, may be helpful in some cases | |
CD79a | Wk | Expression is expected, but characteristically weak | |
CD103 | Not expressed by CLL, consider HCL if found | ||
CD138 | Predominantly expressed at plasma cell differentiation | ||
CD200 | Wk | Characteristically positive in CLL and negative in MCL |
Pitfalls and atypical cases