Quantitative Measurements of Blood Lymphocytes From Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and the Sézary Syndrome

Nuclear contour index measurements of the lymphocytes of the Sézary syndrome, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), chronic lymphosarcoma cell leukemia, and normal lymphocytes allowed quantitative determination of nuclear shape. The nuclear contour index was the ratio of nuclear circumference to the square root of the nuclear cross-sectional area. The distributions of nuclear contour index for lymphocytes of the Sezary syndrome, CLL, and normals had a definite pattern: CLL lymphocytes had the smallest index, whereas Sezary lymphocytes had indices higher than those of normal. lymphocytes with an index greater than a critical value were indicative of the Sézary syndrome. A distinct small cell sezary variant could not be distinguished by nuclear contour index or cell diameter.