Variable detection of myeloid antigens in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Abstract

The lack of any consistent pattern of results suggests that various commercial antibodies against the same CD antigen might recognise different epitopes and that the number of molecules per cell might vary from case to case. These observations partly explain the variation in reported incidence and the failure to establish the clinical importance of myeloid positivity, and they highlight the importance of standardisation in multicentre studies in which immunophenotypic data are collected.