BACKGROUND Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL-N) is an aggressive lymphoma typically diagnosed by examining small biopsy specimens. Flow cytometry is very valuable for the diagnosis and classification of several kinds of hematolymphoid neoplasms but has not been widely used for diagnosing ENKTL-N. METHODS We systematically investigated the flow cytometry characteristics of 26 solid tissue biopsy specimens of ENKTL-N at initial diagnosis and compared the results with those from reactive NK-cells in the nasal/nasopharyngeal region and peripheral blood. RESULTS Our study revealed seven flow cytometry (FCM)-based characteristics for distinguishing between the neoplastic cells and reactive NK-cells, including (1) the proportion of NK-cells among total lymphocytes >10%; (2) forward scatter >105 ; (3) mean fluorescence intensity of CD56 > 5,000; (4) aberrant antigen expression or loss; (5) skewed killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor repertoire; (6) homogenously positive for CD38; and (7) positive for CD30 or CD336. FCM-based immunophenotyping is a potentially feasible and convenient approach for discriminating cellular lineages, evaluating the activation status of NK-cells, and selecting potential therapy targets of ENKTL-N. CONCLUSIONS Flow cytometry is very valuable for facilitating routine diagnosis, confirming clonality, predicting the cellular lineage, and guiding individual treatment for ENKTL-N. © 2019 International Clinical Cytometry Society.

中文翻译：

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基于流式细胞术的综合免疫分型分析，可准确诊断和处理鼻外结节型NK / T细胞淋巴瘤。

背景鼻外结节性自然杀手（NK）/ T细胞淋巴瘤（ENKTL-N）是一种侵袭性淋巴瘤，通常通过检查小型活检标本来诊断。流式细胞仪对于多种类型的血淋巴肿瘤的诊断和分类非常有价值，但尚未广泛用于诊断ENKTL-N。方法我们在初诊时系统地研究了26例ENKTL-N实体组织活检标本的流式细胞仪特征，并将其结果与鼻/鼻咽区和外周血中反应性NK细胞的结果进行了比较。结果我们的研究揭示了七种基于流式细胞仪（FCM）的特征，用于区分肿瘤细胞和反应性NK细胞，包括（1）NK细胞在总淋巴细胞中的比例> 10％；（2）前向散射> 105；（3）CD56的平均荧光强度> 5,000; （4）抗原表达异常或丢失；（5）倾斜的杀伤细胞免疫球蛋白样受体库；（6）CD38均呈阳性；（7）对CD30或CD336呈阳性。基于FCM的免疫表型分析是区分细胞谱系，评估NK细胞激活状态以及选择ENKTL-N潜在治疗靶标的潜在可行且方便的方法。结论流式细胞术对于促进常规诊断，确认克隆性，预测细胞谱系以及指导对ENKTL-N的个别治疗非常有价值。©2019国际临床细胞计量学会。（7）对CD30或CD336呈阳性。基于FCM的免疫表型分析是区分细胞谱系，评估NK细胞激活状态以及选择ENKTL-N潜在治疗靶标的潜在可行且方便的方法。结论流式细胞术对于促进常规诊断，确认克隆性，预测细胞谱系以及指导对ENKTL-N的个别治疗非常有价值。©2019国际临床细胞计量学会。（7）对CD30或CD336呈阳性。基于FCM的免疫表型分析是区分细胞谱系，评估NK细胞激活状态以及选择ENKTL-N潜在治疗靶标的潜在可行且方便的方法。结论流式细胞术对于促进常规诊断，确认克隆性，预测细胞谱系以及指导对ENKTL-N的个别治疗非常有价值。©2019国际临床细胞计量学会。并指导对ENKTL-N的个别治疗。©2019国际临床细胞计量学会。并指导对ENKTL-N的个别治疗。©2019国际临床细胞计量学会。