Comparison of Bone Marrow Aspiration Interpretation with Immunophenotyping in Children’s Leukemia Diagnosis

Abstract

Introduction The prevalence of cancer in children is increasing. The morphological diagnosis of acute leukemia is divided into ALL and AML and is sometimes incompatible with the diagnosis of flow cytometry, which shows the characteristics of malignant cells. This study aims to compare the results of the interpretation of bone marrow aspiration with immunophenotyping in diagnosing childhood leukemia.  Methods Data from medical records was used in a retrospective cohort study of children with leukemia (ages 1–18 years) admitted to Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital Makassar from 2013 to 2017. All patients with a working diagnosis of leukemia were examined for bone marrow aspiration, followed by immunophenotyping, and each group was analyzed. Results Of a total of 90 study subjects, the final diagnosis based on immunophenotyping was 60 ALL and 30 AML patients with a mean age of 8 years and 3 months. The male to female ratio was 1.7:1 (p = 0.353). The mean age of the ALL group was 7 years and 10 months, and AML, 9 years (p = 0.409). The suitability of morphology and flow cytometry to ALL and AML was 92.3% and 50%, respectively. Most markers were in the ALL CD 10 and CD 20 groups with a sensitivity of 100% each, and AML CD 117 with a sensitivity of 92%. Conclusion The correspondence between the results of the interpretation of bone marrow aspiration with immunophenotyping in diagnosing ALL 92.3% and AML 50%.