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Question about Surface Markers and Immunophenotype in AML
Hello everyone. My father (71) was diagnosed with AML last January and we did a RT-qPCR on major translocations with everything negative. He also had a negative result of his PCR for FLT3. He had 2 cycles of Azacitidine and just finished his 1st cycle of Azacitidine and Venetoclax.
We're from a developing country so we don't have access to do NGS testing.
I started to read more on his results from his flow cytometry and this was written:
IMMUNOPHENOTYPIC ANALYSIS: An aberrant blast cell population with intermediate scatter light properties and expressing CD45, HLA-DR, dim CD7, dim CD11c, CD13, CD33, dim CD38, CD117 and very dim cytoplasmic myeloperoxidase is detected at 40.39% of the gated events.
How does the markers (dim cd7, dim cd38, etc.) affect treatment and prognosis? Were your doctors able to explain it to you guys what it meant? Does anyone have the same markers? I'll be asking our doctor about it on his next cycle but I'm also interested on what you know.
Thank you 🙏
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Hi @jalan00. Just checking in with you to see how your dad is doing now that he’s gotten through his first cycle of Azacitidine and Venetoclax. These two medications are often used together and are particularly effective for older adults with AML who are not candidates for intensive chemotherapy.
Regarding the of Immunophenotypic Analysis, the information listed such as CD33, CD45, etc., are commonly expressed antigens for AML. Most of us with AML will have had similar testing with varying comments unique to our own cases. But since they are specific to each patient, this is information for your dad’s doctor to interpret.
The good news is that you mentioned he is negative for the FLT3 mutation, which was often the ‘problem child’ of mutations giving our doctors a challenge with treatment. There is a targeted drug for that mutation now which works well. I was able to use that in conjunction with chemo.
Even without NGS (next generation sequencing) available, your dad’s doctor seems very knowledgeable, has run sophisticated tests and is using first-line treatment for your dad’s AML. His doctor will be able to interpret the tests results and should be willing to discuss them with you.
From personal experience, it can be helpful to have the list of questions or concerns written down in a notepad or even your phone, so that you can go right down the list. It’s so easy during appointments to have conversations take a different direction and we forget important items we wanted to discuss. So having it written down helps to bring the focus back.
When is your dad’s next appointment to speak with his doctor? Has he had any bloodwork since his last cycle ended?
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