Prognostic importance of flow cytometric immunophenotyping of 540 consecutive patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Blood mononuclear cells from 540 newly diagnosed, unse-lected patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were examined by immunofluorescence flow cytome-try for a panel of surface membrane markers, including IgM and IgD, the monoclonal antibodies anti-CD3,-5,-20,-21,-22,-FMC7, and, for the final 125 patients, anti-CD23. There were 503 CD5 ’ and 37 CD5- cases. In the CD5 ’ cases, the cells typically expressed IgM, IgD, CD20, CD21, CD22, and CD23