UTILITY OF IMMUNOLOGICAL MARKER CD14 IN IDENTIFYING MONOCYTIC COMPONENT IN ACUTE LEUKAEMIA

Objective: To assess the usefulness of immunological marker CD 14 in identifying malignant cells of monocytic lineageMaterial and methods: Eight thin smears each from peripheral blood and bone marrow of seventeen acute leukaemia patients were obtained. Romanosky dye (Leishman) and cytochemcial stains (Peroidase, Periodic acid Schiff, non specific esterase) were applied. Two bone marrow smears were then treated with immunological marker CD 14.Results: CD 14 reacted with malignant monocytic lineage cells in 16/17 (94.11%) acute leukaemia cases and that no reactivity was observed in other cells of myeloid as well as lymphoid lineage. Addition of immunological marker CD 14 to the battery of morphocytochemical diagnostic tools has increased diagnostic efficacy from 82.35% to 94.11%, highlighting the usefulness of CD 14 immunological marker.Conclusion: CD14 surface marker is a useful tool for identifying monocytic component in neoplastic cells of acute leukaemia patients.