U.S.-Canadian consensus recommendations on the immunophenotypic analysis of hematologic neoplasia by flow cytometry: standardization and validation of laboratory procedures

The flow cytometric analysis of cells from patients with known or suspected hematological malignancy encompasses issues of specimen triage (is the test necessary?), technology (actual laboratory performance of the test), medical interpretation (analysis of technical data in the medical context of the patient), and reporting of the results in a manner meaningful to the treating physician.