Hi Jane, Bone marrow aspiration is when they just draw out the marrow. Bone marrow biopsy is when they take out a bone chip with the marrow. BMB gives the additional information of marrow fibrosis that a BMA cannot give. Most doctors recommend a BMB only at diagnosis and a BMA later on.
A BMB and a BMA can identify additional chromosomal abnormalities which can also be called mutations. However, these are very different from the mutations that give rise to Gleevec resistance. Those mutations correlate to the distortion of the BCR-ABL protein preventing Gleevec from binding and called ABL point mutations. These ABL point mutations are usually identified from special tests from the blood and done only at some centers. If Gleevec is not working or there is a steady rise in PCR levels, doctors will order the ABL point mutations test to see if these are the cause of Gleevec resistance. Best Wishes, Anjana caregiver to Roy --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
