CD23

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a white blood cancer with a slow progression. Since lymphocytes are responsible for fighting infections in a body, this condition significantly affects the body’s immunity. Despite having an abnormally high number of lymphocytes in your body, the system does not work properly.

A chronic leukaemia test is necessary to detect the condition and make therapeutic interventions. 
The lymphocyte development majorly occurs in the bone marrow. Also, most adults or middle-aged people are prone to this condition. One cannot rely on symptoms for CLL diagnosis because it has slow progression and remains asymptomatic for years.

A CD23 marker test is a reliable diagnostic technique for CLL diagnosis that looks for a unique cell surface protein. This test differentiates between chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and other types of leukaemia.

Apollo 24|7 offers a chronic leukaemia test for the suspected candidates to confirm their condition. While chronic leukaemia may not show severe symptoms, early diagnosis helps ease the symptoms and leaves a better scope for treatments.

The essential CLL diagnosis depends on a CD23 test which forms the cluster of differentiation (CD). One can go for a CD23 marker test after observing the following symptoms in their bodies:

• Swelling in the lymph node such as the neck, groin, armpit, or stomach 
• Difficulty in breathing 
• Feeling bloated and frequent stomach pain episodes
• Enlargement of the spleen
• Fatigue 
• Night sweats
• Frequent fever due to infections
• Unexplained loss of weight and appetite

The primary techniques used in the chronic leukaemia test include flow cytometry or western blotting. 
Flow cytometry is a technique used to check for the properties of the cells. They are programmed to flow across a thin sheet-like fluid channel in this procedure. While flowing, the waves pass through them, and scattered rays are observed using optical devices.

The kind of scattering determines several factors about the cell. These factors include cell size, structure, DNA content, intracellular proteins, gene expression, and transient signalling.

On the other hand, the western blotting technique identifies a specific protein in the cell lysate using antibodies. Since the antibodies are particular, they bind to only a specific sequence of amino acids. 
Further steps include separating the proteins using the SDS-PAGE technique, transferring the protein from the membrane, immunoblotting, and detecting the surface markers.

Even though both the techniques are accurate, western blotting is more prone to manual errors because it is a lengthy technique. Additionally, it requires manual sample preparation and experiments that may not be entirely accurate.

However, a flow cytometry technique depends mainly on the fluorescence marking of the surface antigen and detection using a computerised system. This makes the entire process reliable because the experiment has fewer manual interventions.

Thus, to help your doctor analyse the CD23 test results accurately, you need to discuss the following things with them:

• Frequency of infections
• Changes in the immune system response
• Respiratory function
• Ongoing medications
• Healing process after a recent minor or major injury
• Pattern of weight loss

Apart from this, you can also observe the pattern of lymph node swelling and other minor symptoms in your body to understand the intensity of your condition.