Plasma cells, B-cell terminal lineage, lose B cell-associated antigens including CD10,
CDl9, CD20, CD21, CD22, CD23, Fc receptors, HLA -DR, and surface Ig. It has been
known that they expressed CD38 newly.
CD38, one of five new B cell-associated antigen clusters(CD37, CD38, CD39, CDw40,
CD45R) defined at Ⅲrd International Workshop on Human Leukocyte Differentiation
Antegens, is strongly expressed on plasma cells isolated from multiple myelomas,
plasma cell leukemias and plasmacytomas. The more immature plasma cells are, the
more difficult we morphologically distinguish these cells from lymphocytes or
erythroblasts in circulating blood of myeloma patients and in such a case, a large
number of circulating lymphocytes exhibits CD38 on morphologically unidentifiable cells.
So adding anti-CD38 to the former immunophenotyping pannel (CD3, CD4, CD7, CD8,
CD10, CDl5, DR, Kappa, Lambda), we are sure that the incidence of plasma cell
leukemia will be increased much more than in present.
We report a case of 37-year-old male patient with plasma cell leukemia diagnosed by
Anti-CD38.
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