External validation of the accuracy of 'CLLflow score'

B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders (B-CLDs) are a group of heterogeneous diseases in both morphological and immuphenotypic features, as well as in clinical behavior.1 Flow cytometry has a relevant importance for the accurate diagnostic definition of the various type of B-CLDs. Unfortunately there is not a single marker that can univocally define a specific disease entity. For this reason, in practical laboratory routine, a combination (the so-called ‘panel’) of monoclonal antibodies is currently used. Aiming at better classifying B-CLDs, >20 years ago, the Royal Marsden British group in London proposed a scoring system based on the surface expression of five markers (CD5, CD23, FMC7, CD22 and surface immunoglobulins (SmIg)).2 The same group later showed that the accuracy of this score could be improved by the use of CD79b instead of CD22 (‘revised Matutes score’).3 Despite the progresses of the recent years, especially in the field of genetics and molecular biology, the Matutes score is still widely used. However, the diagnosis of some …