Plasma cell leukaemia (PCL) is a rare and very aggressive plasma cell disorder. Preventing a dismal outcome of PCL requires early diagnosis with appropriate analytical tools. Therefore, the investigation of 33 patients with primary and secondary PCL was done when the quantity of circulating plasma cells (PCs) using flow cytometry (FC) and morphology assessment was evaluated. The phenotypic profile of the PCs was also analysed to determine if there is an association with clinical outcomes and to evaluate the prognostic value of analysed markers. Our results revealed that FC is an excellent method for identifying circulating PCs as a significantly higher number was identified by FC than by morphology (26·7% vs. 13·5%, P = 0·02). None of secondary PCL cases expressed CD19 or CD20. A low level of expression with similar positivity of CD27, CD28, CD81 and CD117 was found in both PCL groups. A decrease of CD44 expression was detected only in secondary PCL. Expression of CD56 was present in more than half of PCL cases as well as cytoplasmic nestin. A decreased level of platelets, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score of 2-3 and lack of CD20+ PC were associated with a higher risk of death. FC could be incorporated in PCL diagnostics not only to determine the number of circulating PCs, but also to assess their phenotype profile and this information should be useful in patients' diagnosis and possible prognosis.

• Keywords
• flow cytometry, multiple myeloma, phenotype, plasma cell, plasma cell leukaemia, prognosis,
• MeSH
• Antigens, Neoplasm analysis   MeSH
• Bone Marrow Cells chemistry   MeSH
• Early Detection of Cancer MeSH
• Antigens, CD analysis   MeSH
• Progression-Free Survival MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• False Negative Reactions MeSH
• Immunophenotyping MeSH
• Kaplan-Meier Estimate MeSH
• Bone Marrow pathology   MeSH
• Blood Cell Count * methods   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Neoplastic Cells, Circulating * MeSH
• Plasma Cells * chemistry   ultrastructure   MeSH
• Leukemia, Plasma Cell blood   mortality   MeSH
• Flow Cytometry methods   MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged, 80 and over MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Comparative Study MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Antigens, Neoplasm MeSH
• Antigens, CD MeSH

The crucial role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the pathology of malignant diseases has been extensively studied during the last decade. Nestin, a class VI intermediate filament protein, was originally detected in neural stem cells during development. Its expression has also been reported in different tissues under various pathological conditions. Specifically, nestin has been shown to be expressed in transformed cells of various human malignancies, and a correlation between its expression and the clinical course of some diseases has been proved. Furthermore, the coexpression of nestin with other stem cell markers was described as a CSC phenotype that was subsequently verified using tumorigenicity assays. The primary aim of this review is to summarize the recent findings regarding nestin expression in CSCs, its possible role in CSC phenotypes, particularly with respect to capacity for self-renewal, and its utility as a putative marker of CSCs.

• Keywords
• Cancer stem cells, cytoskeleton, intermediate filaments, nestin, tumor markers,
• MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Biomarkers, Tumor metabolism   MeSH
• Neoplastic Stem Cells metabolism   MeSH
• Neoplasms metabolism   pathology   MeSH
• Nestin metabolism   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Biomarkers, Tumor MeSH
• NES protein, human MeSH Browser
• Nestin MeSH