|
mindersue
I think the bone marrow biopsy you are having will be looking for the number and type of blood cell precursors and how they are maturing to try to explain your low blood counts. That technology may be different than the technology they use to look for isolated tumor cells.
If you want to ask your oncologist to try to kill two birds with one stone and get two bits of info from one procedure--see if the technique he plans to use and the process by which they process the cells after removing them differs substantially from that described in the articles by Braun and Pantel on isolated tumor cells in bone marrow. I am in no way qualified to decide if they are, but know that it may be important to inquire --according to my readings, the processing technique may vary depending what they are looking for (blood cell precursors vs Isolated tumor cells)
As I understand it, those clinical trials at UCSF that were to look at the bone marrows of newly diagnosed patients were sent to Clarient/Chromavision in Southern California for processing (Google them if needed), their technique which involves a special type of microscope as well as staining was chosen for clinical trials
because of its high resolution and specificity as I understand it. Not only do Clarient have a special technique for looking for isolated tumor cells but they can also stain them , if ITCs are found, for her2. Clarient had a booth at the 2006 SABCS and a poster exhibited this year. Dr. Bloom, their head, just sat on a committee looking into improving accuracy of ER and her2 testing.
Your oncologist will probably only want to send your marrow specimen on for these additional tests if he thinks it may change your treatment--but maybe not. This is where things get sticky as our technology is outpacing our validation of the meaning its results.
Hope some of this helps rather than frustrates you!
|