Comparative Analysis of Flow Cytometry and Cytomorphology for Neuroblastoma Cell Detection in Effusion and Bone Marrow Specimens

Abstract

Background：Neuroblastoma (NB) frequently metastasizes to the bone marrow (BM), pleural and peritoneal cavities. The detection of NB cells in the BM and effusion specimens is important in clinical staging. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the ability of flow cytometry (FCM) and cytomorphology (CM) in detecting NB cells. Materials and methods：From 21 patients with suspected NB metastasis, BM and effusion specimens were analyzed by FCM and CM. Results：A total of 16 effusion (76.2%) and 9 BM (42.9%) specimens were classified by FCM as positive for malignancy. CM revealed 12 (57.1%) and 9 (42.9%) positive effusion and BM specimens, respectively. There were three effusions detected by CM but not by FCM. There was no significant differences between FCM and CM in the detection of NB cells in effusions (p = 0.344). Conclusions：FCM can be used as an adjunct to CM for the detection of NB cells in effusion specimens.

Keywords:

• Neuroblastoma
• bone marrow
• effusion
• metastasis
• flow cytometry

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the patients who participated in this study, which was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. LY15H080003).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was conducted by the financial support from Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LY15H080003).