Central nervous system involvement in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: diagnosis by immunophenotyping

The central nervous system is the most commonly affected extramedullary site in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Although morphologic evaluation of the cerebrospinal fluid has been traditionally used for diagnosing central nervous system involvement, it is a method of low sensitivity. The present study aimed at evaluating the use of immunophenotyping in the detection of blasts in the cerebrospinal fluid from children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.