Hi Trey, The BMA is done with a smaller needle and if the doctor has ordered a BMA, then only the marrow is sucked out and sent for an analysis. If patients have a "dry tap" (always happens to my husband), only then will they use the large needle to do a BMB where they take the bone chip. Unfortunately, since my husband always has dry taps, he has to have the BMB which is more painful than a BMA.
BMA and BMBs are just procedures to get the marrow out for testing. Once you have the marrow, cytogenetics testing (20 marrow cells cultured to look for Ph chromosome), FISH testing (fluorescence probe signals to detect BCR-ABL fusion, generally done on 200-500 cells) and PCR testing (the most sensitive test which can detect 1 bad cell in 100,000 and more normal cells) can all be done from the marrow. A BMA is still recommended to look for additional chromosomal abnormalities in Ph negative cells since these in a handful of Gleevec patients have given rise to other diseases. The PCR is the test of choice after a patient achieves a CCR but most doctors prefer to follow PCR results from the peripheral blood every 3 months as they do not want to do an invasive procedure like a BMA every 3 months. 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
