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phenotypes. In addition, APS comparison between malignant B-cells from patients with different B-cell chronic lymphoproli-ferative disorders (B-CLPD) defined according to the WHO 2008 dassification' allows Identification of the most informative parameters for their differential diagnosis. Noteworthily, fully objective information is obtained through this approach about the specific contribution of each marker in the panel.'¹⁹

CONCLUSION

During the last 6 years, the EuroFlow Consortium has built new approaches for data analysis, which provide a new objective strategy for evaluation of the performance and utility of individual markers and antibody panels. The newly proposed strategy for data analysis of samples stained with the EuroFlow antibody panels indudes a set of sequential steps (Figurę 8): merge of data files corresponding to individual samples stained with the EuroFlow antibody panels, calculation of mlssing values for the celi populations of interest, merge of data files for the reference groups and evaluation of antibody panels through multiple comparisons between different sets of reference cases stained with the same panel of reagents. This new analytical strategy also provides a pattern-guided approach for the immunophenotypic dassification of normal and malignant celi populations.^49,50 The tools required to use the new analytical approach have been implemented into the Infinicyt software by the EuroFlow Consortium, which allows their usage in routine practice by any other group around the world. Herewith a fuli set of flow cytometry data analysis tools is provided to the flow cytometry field to help expert-based interpretation of highly complex multiparameter data sets. In combination with the reference data files generated, the new software tools also provide a robust and reliable method for data comparison between different diagnostic laboratories on a sample-by-sample basis. The robustness and reliability of this approach is also based on the use of antibody panels with sufficient and adequate backbone markers that have been selected for careful identification of the subset of cells of interest, which is essential for accurate calculation of missing data and their graphical representation. Accordingly, use of the EuroFlow antibody panels and the EuroFlow SOPs for sample preparation allows for (1) building databases with reference groups of well-defined WHO categories; (2) dassification of a new case; (3) assuring internal and extemal quality control by any other user if the same tools and reference groups are used. Therefore, the new software tools contribute significantly to the standardization of flow cytometry data analysis.

SECTION 6. RESULTS OF MULTICENTER MEASUREMENTS

T Kalina¹, J Flores-Montero², VHJ van der Velden³, S Bottcher⁴,

M Cullen⁵, L Lhermitte⁶, L Sedek⁷, A Mendonęa⁸, HK Wind³,

JG te Marvelde³, E Mejstrikova', O Hrusak', JJM van Dongen³ and A Orfao²

'DPH/O, Prague. Czech Republic; ²USAL, Salamanca, Spoin; ³Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; *UNIKIEL, Kieł, Germany; ⁵UNIVLEEDS, Leeds, UK ⁶AP-HP, Paris, France; ⁷SUM, Zabrze, Poland and ⁸IPOLFG', Lisbon, Portugal

BACKGROUND

In order to design and apply the EuroFlow antibody panels for the immunophenotypic diagnosis and dassification of leukemias and lymphomas, SOPs were developed and evaluated as described in the previous sections. However, multicentric implementation of such antibody panels²⁹ and SOPs would require further evaluation of the protocols at the multicentric level. For this purpose two different series of experiments could be envisaged: (1) staining of comparable samples with the same SOPs and antibody panels at