Development and Prospective Validation of a Standardized Flow Cytometric Assay of Peripheral Blood Neutrophil Myeloperoxidase Expression for Ruling Out Myelodysplastic Syndromes.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) comprise a heterogeneous group of clonal bone marrow neoplasms that predominate in the elderly, with a median age at diagnosis of 70 years. The diagnosis of MDS relies on peripheral blood cytopenia and morphologic dysplasia for one or more hematopoietic cell lineage. Cytopenia is evidenced with hemogram while dysplasia requires bone marrow aspirate, which is an invasive procedure . Considering the low prevalence of disease among subjects referred for suspected MDS, many patients are exposed to unnecessary bone marrow aspiration-related discomfort and harms. Therefore, an objective assay based on a peripheral blood sample that accurately discriminates MDS from other cytopenia etiologies is highly desirable. We have previously developed and refined a flow cytometric analysis protocol for quantifying neutrophil MPO expression in peripheral blood at three university-affiliated hospitals (i.e., Clermont-Ferrand, Saint-Etienne, and Grenoble) (Raskovalova et al, Hematologica 2019). We found that the robust coefficient of variation (RCV, computed as the robust standard deviation divided by the median) within an individual subject was the best parameter in discriminating patients with versus without MDS. Although promising, flow cytometric analysis of neutrophil MPO expression in peripheral blood is technically complex, time consuming, and not standardized. Hence, its performance requires specific expertise and the results show substantial variability. A single ready-to-use tube with lyophilized antibodies would have the potential to standardize the measurement of neutrophil MPO expression in peripheral blood across laboratories, with results available within 30-60 min in routine practice. In this study, the investigators hypothesize that a standardized and semi-automatic flow cytometric assay of neutrophil MPO expression in peripheral blood could accurately rule out MDS and obviate the need for bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, with sens