Diagnostic Value of Nucleated Red Blood Cells in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

This study aimed to determine whether nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) can be used as a biomarker to support pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) diagnosis. In total, 60 children newly diagnosed with ALL and 70 controls were included in this retrospective study. Males were significantly higher than females in the ALL group (P = .010). The ALL group had significantly higher NRBC#, NRBC%, WBC, lymphocyte, monocyte, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean platelet volume (MPV), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (P < .05, for all). The ALL group had significantly lower RBC, platelet, neutrophil, eosinophil, basophil, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and albumin levels (P < .001, for all) and also mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (P = .004). According to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, NRBC# and NRBC% were the biomarkers to have a significant diagnostic value for ALL with the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.837 and 0.677 (P < .001, P = .001, respectively). These results showed that NRBC increases in children with ALL and that NRBCs may represent a supportive biomarker contributing to the diagnosis of pediatric ALL.