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Role of Flow Cytometry in Plasma Cell Neoplasms

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Plasma Cell Neoplasms

Abstract

Plasma cell neoplasms (PCN) are a heterogeneous group of disorders with a spectrum of clinical presentations from asymptomatic monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to smoldering multiple myeloma to symptomatic multiple myeloma (MM). Other less common categories of PCN include AL amyloidosis, POEMS syndrome, and plasma cell leukemia. Typically, the gold standard for diagnosis has been to correlate morphologic assessment with clinical information (hypercalcemia, renal failure, anemia, and lytic bone lesions) and serologic data, including protein and urine electrophoresis with immunofixation, along with serum-free light chain assay data. As technology has improved, especially monoclonal antibody production and instrumentation, multicolor flow cytometry has become an important tool to demonstrate that the plasma cells present in a bone marrow/tissue/fluid specimen are clonal or immunophenotypically abnormal.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St. SE, MMC 609, 55454, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Beenu Thakral MD

  2. Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern Memorial Hospital Galter Pavilion, 201 E. Huron Street, 60201, Chicago, IL, USA

    Kristy Wolniak MD, PhD

  3. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware St. SE, MMC 609, 55454, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Michael A. Linden MD, PhD

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  1. Beenu Thakral MD
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  2. Kristy Wolniak MD, PhD
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  3. Michael A. Linden MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Beenu Thakral MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. and Pathology, University of Minnesota Department of Laboratory Medicine, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Michael A. Linden

  2. and Pathology, University of Minnesota Department of Laboratory Medicine, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Robert W. McKenna

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Thakral, B., Wolniak, K., Linden, M. (2016). Role of Flow Cytometry in Plasma Cell Neoplasms. In: Linden, M., McKenna, R. (eds) Plasma Cell Neoplasms. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10918-3_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10918-3_6

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