Application of bone marrow samples for discrimination of acute promyelocytic leukemia from other types of acute leukemia using the routine automated hematology analyzer

Summary Introduction Unreported parameters produced by automated blood cell counter, particularly large unstained cells (LUC) and delta neutrophil index (DNI), indicated the presence of immature and possibly abnormal cell populations in white blood cell population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the laboratory performance for discrimination of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells from other types of leukemia cells and clinical value of LUC and DNI parameters in bone marrow (BM) samples of patients with acute leukemia. Methods A total of 73 BM samples of patients with various type of acute leukemia were analyzed. LUC and DNI parameters were determined by an automated hematology analyzer (ADVIA 120; Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, New York, NY, USA). Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U methods. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, survival analysis, and Cox proportional hazard model were used to evaluate the clinical implication. Results There were significant differences (P