teardrop cells?

[Vlaminck]

Hey, gang, I am in W&W. I had blood tests taken by my GP for a non-CLL reason, but it showed details I have not seen before on the blood results from my oncologist. It showed "moderate" smudge cells which, internet has told me, is normal for CLL. But it also showed "teardrop cells 1+". Unlike smudge cells, I cannot find that this is normal for CLL but rather for some other diseases related to fibrosis and anemia. I'm assuming 1+ means a few but not many? Wondering if anyone else has encountered this, and whether I should report this to my oncologist. Thanks in advance for any info or thoughts others might have.

[AussieNeil Administrator]

The blood monitoring we have as part of good CLL management comes with the downside that because our blood counts are by definition, not normal, they come to the attention of pathologists in our testing labs. Most everyone else just gets an automated report with no-one looking at a blood slide under a microscope. So when a pathologist looks at our blood, they need to put something in the report to give some guidance to our specialists on what might need further investigation. In reality, there are things like tear drop shaped red blood cells that pop up occasionally but they are never seen, because the cost of actually looking at a blood smear is not built into the price of a standard blood test. You noted from your research that their occurrence is with "diseases related to fibrosis and anemia", but did you note that the fundamental cause is changes in the bone marrow architecture due to infiltration (which is unfortunately normal with CLL)? By all means mention your concern to your oncologist, but I doubt they will want any further investigation unless you'll see mention of more of them in a future blood test, which is probably unlikely.

Neil

[Vlaminck in reply to AussieNeil]

Thank you, Neil. I wonder if I have had the same or similar for awhile but they never did this sort of blood test.

[Shepherd777]

Smudge cells can be from getting smudged while placing the specimen under the scope as CLL white cells are more fragile then normal white blood cells and smudge more easily. Tear drops or oval cells can be old cells that have been circulating for 10 days and get roughed up a bit and oval shape prior to expiring. On the other hand if you have many smudge cells or many ovals rather than few, or moderate other things can be going on. I am no expert just a caregiver for my wife... other's with a great deal of background on this site will chime in soon and give a better reply for sure.

[Vlaminck in reply to Shepherd777]

Thank you, Shepherd.

[lankisterguy Volunteer]

Hi Vlaminck,

Just adding one more minor point to the excellent replies by AussieNeil & Shepherd777 the 1+ means 25% of the red blood cells viewed have that shape.

ucsfhealth.org/medical-test...

"Some abnormalities may be graded on a 4-point scale: 1+ means one quarter of cells are affected. 2+ means one half of cells are affected. 3+ means three quarters of cells are affected."

and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poiki...

-

Len

[Vlaminck in reply to lankisterguy]

Wow, thanks , Len. Had no idea that many--was thinking/hoping it meant one plus.

[esn1967]

I've had some teardrop cells in my blood test results, too.

[Vlaminck in reply to esn1967]

Than you, esn. Did it indicate whether many or not? Any concern by doc?

[esn1967 in reply to Vlaminck]

I was diagnosed one year ago and in W & W. I took the advice of many here who counseled to find a CLL specialist and let them worry over test results. So I googled tear cells and did not read anything to alarming, given that I know I have CLL, and then stopped thinking about it.

[Vlaminck in reply to esn1967]

Thanks for checking.