Abstract
Plasma cell disorders form a spectrum ranging from the asymptomatic presence of small monoclonal populations of plasma cells to conditions like plasma cell leukemia and multiple myeloma, in which the bone marrow can be replaced by the accumulation of neoplastic plasma cells. Immunophenotyping has become an invaluable tool in the management of hematological malignancies and is increasingly finding a role in the diagnosis and monitoring of plasma cell disorders. Multiparameter flow cytometry has evolved considerably during the past decade with an increasing ability to screen large numbers of events and to detect multiple antigens at the same time. This, along with a better understanding of the phenotypic heterogeneity of the clonal plasma cells in different disorders, has made immunophenotyping an indispensible tool in the diagnosis, prognostic classification and management of plasma cell disorders. This book chapter addresses the approaches taken to evaluate monoclonal plasma cell disorders, and the different markers and techniques that are important for the study of these diseases.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 433-451 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Best Practice and Research: Clinical Haematology |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2010 |
Keywords
- Immunophenotyping
- Monoclonal gammopathy
- Myeloma
- Plasma cell
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Clinical Biochemistry