In recent years, there has been an expansion in the use of flow cytometry (FC) immunophenotyping in the diagnosis and monitoring of childhood solid neoplasms. Neuroblastoma (NB), in turn, is the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood. In the present study, we sought to compare FC and anatomopathological examination (PA) / immunohistochemistry (IHC) of children diagnosed or suspected with NB. The median age was 59 months (minimum 0; maximum 325 months), of these 12 were male (57.1%, 12/21). Forty-eight samples (27 bone marrow (BM), 10 peripheral blood (PB), 8 primary tumors (PT) and 2 liver nodules (HN) and 1 rib fragment (RF)) from 21 patients were evaluated. Twenty-nine samples were from patients with clinical suspicion while 19 samples were from patients with previously confirmed diagnosis. Thirteen samples (7 BM, 5 PT and 1 HN) presented NB when analyzed in FC while 8 (3 BM and 5 PT) samples were positive for NB in the PA/IHC. They were concordant in 88.9% of the cases. No NB cells were identified in any PB. Considering the PA as the gold standard, the FC obtained a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 86%, a positive predictive value of 67% and a negative predictive value of 100%. This study demonstrates that FC can be used as a methodology for diagnosis and assessment of NB involvement. In addition, FC has the advantage of allowing a quick diagnosis and accurate classification of the disease, and can also assist in monitoring the treatment.

近年来，流式细胞术 (FC) 免疫表型在儿童实体肿瘤的诊断和监测中的应用不断扩大。反过来，神经母细胞瘤 (NB) 是儿童期最常见的颅外实体瘤。在本研究中，我们试图比较诊断或怀疑患有 NB 的儿童的 FC 和解剖病理学检查 (PA)/免疫组织化学 (IHC)。中位年龄为 59 个月（最少 0 个月；最多 325 个月），其中 12 人为男性（57.1%，12/21）。评估了来自 21 名患者的 48 个样本（27 个骨髓 (BM)、10 个外周血 (PB)、8 个原发性肿瘤 (PT) 和 2 个肝结节 (HN) 和 1 个肋骨碎片 (RF)）。29 个样本来自临床疑似患者，19 个样本来自先前确诊的患者。十三个样本（7 BM，5 个 PT 和 1 个 HN）在 FC 中分析时呈现 NB，而 8 个（3 个 BM 和 5 个 PT）样品在 PA/IHC 中对 NB 呈阳性。它们在 88.9% 的案例中是一致的。在任何 PB 中均未鉴定出 NB 细胞。以PA为金标准，FC获得了100%的敏感性、86%的特异性、67%的阳性预测值和100%的阴性预测值。本研究表明 FC 可用作诊断和评估 NB 参与的方法。此外，FC 的优点是可以快速诊断和准确分类疾病，还可以协助监测治疗。以PA为金标准，FC获得了100%的敏感性、86%的特异性、67%的阳性预测值和100%的阴性预测值。本研究表明 FC 可用作诊断和评估 NB 参与的方法。此外，FC 的优点是可以快速诊断和准确分类疾病，还可以协助监测治疗。以PA为金标准，FC获得了100%的敏感性、86%的特异性、67%的阳性预测值和100%的阴性预测值。本研究表明 FC 可用作诊断和评估 NB 参与的方法。此外，FC 的优点是可以快速诊断和准确分类疾病，还可以协助监测治疗。