Analytical assay validation for acute myeloid leukemia measurable residual disease assessment by multiparametric flow cytometry.

BACKGROUND: Measurable residual disease (MRD) assessed by multiparametric flow cytometry (MFC) has gained importance in clinical decision-making for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. However, complying with the recent In Vitro Diagnostic Regulations (IVDR) in Europe and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance in the United States requires rigorous validation prior to their use in investigational clinical trials and diagnostics. Validating AML MRD-MFC assays poses challenges due to the unique underlying disease biology and paucity of patient specimens. In this study, we describe an experimental framework for validation that meets regulatory expectations. METHODS: Our validation efforts focused on evaluating assay accuracy, analytical specificity, analytical and functional sensitivity (limit of blank (LoB), detection (LLoD) and quantitation (LLoQ)), precision, linearity, sample/reagent stability and establishing the assay background frequencies. RESULTS: Correlation between different MFC methods was highly significant (r = 0.99 for %blasts and r = 0.93 for %LAIPs). The analysis of LAIP specificity accurately discriminated from negative control cells. The assay demonstrated a LoB of 0.03, LLoD of 0.04, and LLoQ of 0.1%. Precision experiments yielded highly reproducible results (Coefficient of Variation <20%). Stability experiments demonstrated reliable measurement of samples up to 96 h from collection. Furthermore, the reference range of LAIP frequencies in non-AML patients was below 0.1%, ranging from 0.0% to 0.04%. CONCLUSION: In this manuscript, we present the validation of an AML MFC-MRD assay using BM/PB patient specimens, adhering to best practices. Our approach is expected to assist other laboratories in expediting their validation activities to fulfill recent health authority guidelines.

Flow cytometric analysis of myelodysplasia: Pre-analytical and technical issues-Recommendations from the European LeukemiaNet.

BACKGROUND: Flow cytometry (FCM) aids the diagnosis and prognostic stratification of patients with suspected or confirmed myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Over the past few years, significant progress has been made in the FCM field concerning technical issues (including software and hardware) and pre-analytical procedures. METHODS: Recommendations are made based on the data and expert discussions generated from 13 yearly meetings of the European LeukemiaNet international MDS Flow working group. RESULTS: We report here on the experiences and recommendations concerning (1) the optimal methods of sample processing and handling, (2) antibody panels and fluorochromes, and (3) current hardware technologies. CONCLUSIONS: These recommendations will support and facilitate the appropriate application of FCM assays in the diagnostic workup of MDS patients. Further standardization and harmonization will be required to integrate FCM in MDS diagnostic evaluations in daily practice.

Clinical application of flow cytometry in patients with unexplained cytopenia and suspected myelodysplastic syndrome: A report of the European LeukemiaNet International MDS-Flow Cytometry Working Group.

This article discusses the rationale for inclusion of flow cytometry (FCM) in the diagnostic investigation and evaluation of cytopenias of uncertain origin and suspected myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) by the European LeukemiaNet international MDS Flow Working Group (ELN iMDS Flow WG). The WHO 2016 classification recognizes that FCM contributes to the diagnosis of MDS and may be useful for prognostication, prediction, and evaluation of response to therapy and follow-up of MDS patients.

A series of case studies illustrating the role of flow cytometry in the diagnostic work-up of myelodysplastic syndromes.

Current guidelines recommend flow cytometric analysis as part of the diagnostic assessment of patients with cytopenia suspected for myelodysplastic syndrome. Herein we describe the complete work-up of six cases using multimodal integrated diagnostics. Flow cytometry assessments are illustrated by plots from conventional and more recent analysis tools. The cases demonstrate the added value of flow cytometry in case of hypocellular, poor quality, or ambiguous bone marrow cytomorphology. Moreover, they demonstrate how immunophenotyping results support clinical decision-making in inconclusive and clinically 'difficult' cases.

Multiparameter flow cytometry in the evaluation of myelodysplasia: Analytical issues: Recommendations from the European LeukemiaNet/International Myelodysplastic Syndrome Flow Cytometry Working Group.

Multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC) is one of the essential ancillary methods in bone marrow (BM) investigation of patients with cytopenia and suspected myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). MFC can also be applied in the follow-up of MDS patients undergoing treatment. This document summarizes recommendations from the International/European Leukemia Net Working Group for Flow Cytometry in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (ELN iMDS Flow) on the analytical issues in MFC for the diagnostic work-up of MDS. Recommendations for the analysis of several BM cell subsets such as myeloid precursors, maturing granulocytic and monocytic components and erythropoiesis are given. A core set of 17 markers identified as independently related to a cytomorphologic diagnosis of myelodysplasia is suggested as mandatory for MFC evaluation of BM in a patient with cytopenia. A myeloid precursor cell (CD34+ CD19- ) count >3% should be considered immunophenotypically indicative of myelodysplasia. However, MFC results should always be evaluated as part of an integrated hematopathology work-up. Looking forward, several machine-learning-based analytical tools of interest should be applied in parallel to conventional analytical methods to investigate their usefulness in integrated diagnostics, risk stratification, and potentially even in the evaluation of response to therapy, based on MFC data. In addition, compiling large uniform datasets is desirable, as most of the machine-learning-based methods tend to perform better with larger numbers of investigated samples, especially in such a heterogeneous disease as MDS.

Impact of Pre-Analytical and Analytical Variables Associated with Sample Preparation on Flow Cytometric Stainings Obtained with EuroFlow Panels.

Objective interpretation of FC results may still be hampered by limited technical standardization. The EuroFlow consortium conducted a series of experiments to determine the impact of different variables on the relative distribution and the median fluorescence intensity (MFI) of markers stained on different cell populations, from both healthy donors and patients' samples with distinct hematological malignancies. The use of different anticoagulants; the time interval between sample collection, preparation, and acquisition; pH of washing buffers; and the use of cell surface membrane-only (SM) vs. cell surface plus intracytoplasmic (SM+CY) staining protocols, were evaluated. Our results showed that only monocytes were represented at higher percentages in EDTA- vs. heparin-anticoagulated samples. Application of SM or SM+CY protocols resulted in slight differences in the percentage of neutrophils and debris determined only with particular antibody combinations. In turn, storage of samples for 24 h at RT was associated with greater percentage of debris and cell doublets when the plasma cell disorder panel was used. Furthermore, 24 h storage of stained cells at RT was selectively detrimental for MFI levels of CD19 and CD45 on mature B- and T-cells (but not on leukemic blasts, clonal B- and plasma cells, neutrophils, and NK cells). The obtained results showed that the variables evaluated might need to be tailored for sample and cell type(s) as well as to the specific markers compared; however, defining of well-balanced boundaries for storage time, staining-to-acquisition delay, and pH of washing buffer would be a valid recommendation for most applications and circumstances described herein.

B-Cell Regeneration Profile and Minimal Residual Disease Status in Bone Marrow of Treated Multiple Myeloma Patients.

B-cell regeneration during therapy has been considered as a strong prognostic factor in multiple myeloma (MM). However, the effects of therapy and hemodilution in bone marrow (BM) B-cell recovery have not been systematically evaluated during follow-up. MM (n = 177) and adult (≥50y) healthy donor (HD; n = 14) BM samples were studied by next-generation flow (NGF) to simultaneously assess measurable residual disease (MRD) and residual normal B-cell populations. BM hemodilution was detected in 41 out of 177 (23%) patient samples, leading to lower total B-cell, B-cell precursor (BCP) and normal plasma cell (nPC) counts. Among MM BM, decreased percentages (vs. HD) of BCP, transitional/naïve B-cell (TBC/NBC) and nPC populations were observed at diagnosis. BM BCP increased after induction therapy, whereas TBC/NBC counts remained abnormally low. At day+100 postautologous stem cell transplantation, a greater increase in BCP with recovered TBC/NBC cell numbers but persistently low memory B-cell and nPC counts were found. At the end of therapy, complete response (CR) BM samples showed higher CD19- nPC counts vs. non-CR specimens. MRD positivity was associated with higher BCP and nPC percentages. Hemodilution showed a negative impact on BM B-cell distribution. Different BM B-cell regeneration profiles are present in MM at diagnosis and after therapy with no significant association with patient outcome.

Standardised immunophenotypic analysis of myeloperoxidase in acute leukaemia.

Given its myeloid-restricted expression, myeloperoxidase (MPO) is typically used for lineage assignment (myeloid vs. lymphoid) during acute leukaemia (AL) diagnostics. In the present study, a robust flow cytometric definition for MPO positivity was established based on the standardised EuroFlow protocols, the standardised Acute Leukaemia Orientation Tube and 1734 multicentre AL cases (with confirmed assay stability). The best diagnostic performance was achieved by defining MPO positivity as ≥20% of the AL cells exceeding a lymphocyte-based threshold. The methodology employed should be applicable to any form of standardised flow cytometry.

Comments on EuroFlow standard operating procedures for instrument setup and compensation for BD FACS Canto II, Navios and BD FACS Lyric instruments.

This commentary discusses particularities of application of the EuroFlow standardization of flow cytometric analyses on three different flow cytometers. The EuroFlow consortium developed a fully standardized approach for flow cytometric immunophenotyping of hematological malignancies and primary immunodeficiencies. Standardized instrument setup is an essential part of EuroFlow standardization. Initially, the EuroFlow Consortium developed and optimized a step-by-step standard operating procedure (SOP) to setup 8-color BD FACSCanto II flow cytometer (Canto), with the later inclusion of Navios (Beckman Coulter) and BD FACSLyric (Lyric). Those SOPs were developed to enable standardized and fully comparable fluorescence measurements in the three flow cytometers. In Canto and Navios, mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of a reference peak of Rainbow beads calibration particles is used to set up photomultiplier (PMT) voltages for each detector channel in individual instruments to reach the same MFI across distinct instruments. In turn, a new feature of Lyric instruments allows to share collection of attributes that are used to place the positive population at the same position among instruments in the form of assays, as one of its components integrated in the Cytometer Setup and Tracking (CS&T) module. The EuroFlow Lyric assays thus allow for standardized acquisition of 8-color EuroFlow panels on Lyric without the need to setup the PMT voltages on the individual instruments manually. In summary, the standardized instrument setup developed by EuroFlow enables cross-platform inter- and intra-laboratory standardization of flow cytometric measurements. This commentary provides a perspective on the modifications of the standardized EuroFlow instrument setup of Canto, Navios and Lyric instruments that are described in detail in individual instrument-specfic SOPs available at the EuroFlow website.

Optimization and testing of dried antibody tube: The EuroFlow LST and PIDOT tubes as examples.

Within EuroFlow, we recently developed screening tubes for hematological malignancies and immune deficiencies. Pipetting of antibodies for such 8-color 12-marker tubes however is time-consuming and prone to operational mistakes. We therefore evaluated dried formats of the lymphocytosis screening tube (LST) and of the primary immune deficiency orientation tube (PIDOT). Both tubes were evaluated on normal and/or on patient samples, comparing the mean fluorescence intensity of specific lymphocyte populations. Our data show that the dried tubes and liquid counterparts give highly comparable staining results, particularly when analyzed in multidimensional plots. In addition, the use of dried tubes may result in a reduced staining variability between different samples and thereby contributes to the generation of more robust data. Therefore, by using ready-to-use reagents in a dried single test tube format, the laboratory efficiency and quality will be improved.

CD123 expression levels in 846 acute leukemia patients based on standardized immunophenotyping.

BACKGROUND: While it is known that CD123 is normally strongly expressed on plasmacytoid dendritic cells and completely absent on nucleated red blood cells, detailed information regarding CD123 expression in acute leukemia is scarce and, if available, hard to compare due to different methodologies. METHODS: CD123 expression was evaluated using standardized EuroFlow immunophenotyping in 139 pediatric AML, 316 adult AML, 193 pediatric BCP-ALL, 69 adult BCP-ALL, 101 pediatric T-ALL, and 28 adult T-ALL patients. Paired diagnosis-relapse samples were available for 57 AML and 19 BCP-ALL patients. Leukemic stem cell (LSC) data was available for 32 pediatric AML patients. CD123 expression was evaluated based on mean fluorescence intensity, median fluorescence intensity, and percentage CD123 positive cells. RESULTS: EuroFlow panels were stable over time and between laboratories. CD123 was expressed in the majority of AML and BCP-ALL patients, but absent in most T-ALL patients. Within AML, CD123 expression was lower in erythroid/megakaryocytic leukemia, higher in NPM1 mutated and FLT3-ITD mutated leukemia, and comparable between LSC and leukemic blasts. Within BCP-ALL, CD123 expression was higher in patients with (high) hyperdiploid karyotypes and the BCR-ABL fusion gene. Interestingly, CD123 expression was increased in BCP-ALL relapses while highly variable in AML relapses (compared to CD123 expression at diagnosis). CONCLUSIONS: Authors evaluated CD123 expression in a large cohort of acute leukemia patients, based on standardized and reproducible methodology. Our results may facilitate stratification of patients most likely to respond to CD123 targeted therapies and serve as reference for CD123 expression (in health and disease). © 2018 The Authors. Cytometry Part B: Clinical Cytometry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Clinical Cytometry Society.

Immunophenotypic measurable residual disease (MRD) in acute myeloid leukemia: Is multicentric MRD assessment feasible?

Flow-cytometric detection of now termed measurable residual disease (MRD) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has proven to have an independent prognostic impact. In a previous multicenter study we developed protocols to accurately define leukemia-associated immunophenotypes (LAIPs) at diagnosis. It has, however, not been demonstrated whether the use of the defined LAIPs in the same multicenter setting results in a high concordance between centers in MRD assessment. In the present paper we evaluated whether interpretation of list-mode data (LMD) files, obtained from MRD assessment of previously determined LAIPs during and after treatment, could reliably be performed in a multicenter setting. The percentage of MRD positive cells was simultaneously determined in totally 173 LMD files from 77 AML patients by six participating centers. The quantitative concordance between the six participating centers was meanly 84%, with slight variation of 75%-89%. In addition our data showed that the type and number of LAIPs were of influence on the performance outcome. The highest concordance was observed for LAIPs with cross-lineage expression, followed by LAIPs with an asynchronous antigen expression. Our results imply that immunophenotypic MRD assessment in AML will only be feasible when fully standardized methods are used for reliable multicenter assessment.

Usability of femoral head bone marrow to verify reference ranges for the assessment of myelodysplasia by flow cytometry.

BACKGROUND: A flow cytometry score (FCS) based on four parameters has been proposed for analysis of myelodysplastic syndromes patients with <5% blasts. We evaluated whether bone marrow aspirate samples isolated from femoral heads could be used for verification of cutoff values of the individual parameters score (IPS), contributing to the FCS and compared the applicability of FCS parameters in two centers. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Bone marrow cells were obtained from femoral heads of patients who underwent hip replacement surgery. The score of the 4 individual parameters of the cell samples were obtained independently in two centers, using their own facilities and methods. Flow cytometry data files were subsequently exchanged and reanalyzed in the other center. The resulting four data sets were compared to assess reproducibility and outcomes in both centers. RESULTS: Twenty-nine of 40 bone marrow samples contained sufficient cells for analysis. Proposed cutoff values for 3 of 4 individual parameters were appropriate. All 29 samples showed a positive individual parameters score (IPS:1) in 1 of the 4 obtained data sets. Most differences in IPS scores were a result of reanalyzing the data file in the other center, rather than data acquisition. FCS: ≥2 were observed in 11 samples. CONCLUSION: Bone marrow samples from femoral heads are appropriate for verification of the proposed reference cutoff values of the individual parameters. Proposed reference cutoff values needed to be adjusted for reliable interpretation. Standardization of both data acquisition and data analysis is necessary for obtaining uniform results.

Introduction to the diagnosis and classification of monocytic-lineage leukemias by flow cytometry.

Despite diagnostic criteria are currently available for the distinct subtypes of monocytic-lineage neoplasias, a number of partially overlapping features still remain evident, which may hamper their differential diagnosis. An accurate identification and characterization of monocytic cells is of major relevance for the diagnosis and classification of these neoplasias. In this regard, as compared to other conventional techniques, flow cytometry has shown the highest sensitivity for detection of early monocytic commitment of (normal and neoplastic) bone marrow CD34+ hematopoietic precursors as well as of monocytic aberrations and maturation blockades, which are frequently associated with clonal myeloid disorders. In the present paper we provide basic principles and criteria for multiparameter flow cytometry identification and characterization of bone marrow monocytic cells that contribute to an improved diagnostic and classification of monocytic lineage-associated acute leukemias in clinical settings, particularly when using the EuroFlow antibody panels. © 2015 International Clinical Cytometry Society.

Standardized flow cytometry for highly sensitive MRD measurements in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A fully-standardized EuroFlow 8-color antibody panel and laboratory procedure was stepwise designed to measure minimal residual disease (MRD) in B-cell precursor (BCP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients with a sensitivity of ≤10-5, comparable to real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR)-based MRD detection via antigen-receptor rearrangements. Leukocyte markers and the corresponding antibodies and fluorochromes were selected based on their contribution in separating BCP-ALL cells from normal/regenerating BCP cells in multidimensional principal component analyses. After 5 multicenter design-test-evaluate-redesign phases with a total of 319 BCP-ALL patients at diagnosis, two 8-color antibody tubes were selected, which allowed separation between normal and malignant BCP cells in 99% of studied patients. These 2 tubes were tested with a new erythrocyte bulk-lysis protocol allowing acquisition of high cell numbers in 377 bone marrow follow-up samples of 178 BCP-ALL patients. Comparison with RQ-PCR-based MRD data showed a clear positive relation between the percentage concordant cases and the number of cells acquired. For those samples with >4 million cells acquired, concordant results were obtained in 93% of samples. Most discordances were clarified upon high-throughput sequencing of antigen-receptor rearrangements and blind multicenter reanalysis of flow cytometric data, resulting in an unprecedented concordance of 98% (97% for samples with MRD < 0.01%). In conclusion, the fully standardized EuroFlow BCP-ALL MRD strategy is applicable in >98% of patients with sensitivities at least similar to RQ-PCR (≤10-5), if sufficient cells (>4 × 106, preferably more) are evaluated.