Case 1 illustrates that flow cytometry and ancillary tests often cannot compensate for poor or minimal sampling. It is well-established that the specificity of both flow cytometry and molecular methods for detection of clonality depends on the number of cells and fraction of neoplastic cells in a specimen. Here, the flow cytometry of the initial specimen was performed on a few thousand events, resulting in a homogenous appearing population. In contrast, the flow cytometry of the excised specimen with at least 10 times as many cells, shows clear evidence of T-cell maturation, a qualitatively different result that is indicative of a non-neoplastic T-cell population.