Revising flow cytometric mini-panel for diagnosing low-grade myelodysplastic syndromes: Introducing a parameter quantifying CD33 expression on CD34+ cells

Diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is not straightforward when objective data, such as blast excess and abnormal cytogenetics, are lacking. Expert laboratories use flow cytometry (FCM) to help diagnose MDS. However, most of FCM protocols for MDS are complex, requiring a high level of expertise and high cost. We have reported a FCM mini-panel consisting of four FCM parameters (so-called Ogata score), which is simple to conduct and inexpensive. In this paper, to refine this mini-panel, we have introduced a new FCM parameter, which quantifies CD33 expression on CD34+ cells (called Granulocyte/CD34 cell CD33 ratio). Bone marrow cells from MDS without blast excess (low-grade MDS) and controls were stained with CD34, CD45, and CD33 and analyzed for five parameters (“Granulocyte/CD34 cell CD33 ratio” plus four parameters in the Ogata score). By a multivariate logistic regression model, only three parameters, including “Granulocyte/CD34 cell CD33 ratio” had statistically significant power for diagnosing low-grade MDS. Based on the results, we constructed a new scoring system, which showed approximately 50% sensitivity and more than 95% specificity in diagnosing low-grade MDS. Our revised mini-panel is suitable for screening samples suspected for MDS and provides a basis for further improvement in diagnostic FCM protocols for MDS.