RESUMO
Morphologic types L1 and L2 (FAB) of acute lymphoblastic leukemia were classified by computer morphometry of bone marrow blast cells in 57 patients. Measurements were made on MOP-Videoplan Analyser (Reichert) by means of cell image contouring. The decision rule that had been deduced by us on the basis of multidimensional analysis of variance in two-cell training sets, and the selection of the following combination of the best discriminating features [the discriminant coefficients are in brackets: maximal nuclear diameter (-0.338), nuclear perimeter (-6.145), cell area (-0.044), nuclear area (1.007), relative nucleoli eccentricity (-0.279), cytoplasmic/nuclear relation (-5.920) and integral nucleoli area (-0.640)] were used for computer classification of L1 and L2 blast cells. The threshold score for discriminant function in this case was -117.766. Complete clinical remission rates in L1 ALL appeared to be higher than in L2 but remission duration in those groups did not differ significantly. The morphometric parameters of leukemic cells seem to characterize their maturity or their position in cell cycle phases and may be used in acute leukemia patient monitoring.
