leukemia symptoms : Ask Your Doctor about Monitoring Your Response to Treatment
The following is a list of questions you can ask your doctor about monitoring your response to treatment and a brief explanation of why you would want to know the answer to these questions.
Doctors use a variety of tests to monitor treatment effectiveness and the progression of CML. These include blood tests and cytogenetic tests, including the fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) test and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Am I responding to treatment?
Almost everyone with CML has cells with the Philadelphia chromosome, which is responsible for the overproduction of white blood cells (WBCs). Doctors monitor your response to medical treatments by measuring the behavior and characteristics of the WBCs. Laboratory tests are used to measure the number of leukemia cells, and, if you are Philadelphia chromosome-positive, the number of cells containing the defective gene.
Am I experiencing a hematological response?
A hematological response means that the number of WBCs is now within normal range. The hematologic response can be used to predict the course of the disease.
Am I experiencing a cytogenetic response?
Cytogenetic tests look for the Philadelphia chromosome, the genetic hallmark of CML. This test can detect one defective cell in 20. When people who are Philadelphia chromosome-positive have a cytogenetic response, it means that the number of leukemia cells containing the defect has been reduced. Doctors take a sample that contains millions of cells and examine 20 to 30 of them under the microscope. A complete cytogenetic response means that no Philadelphia chromosome-positive cells have been found in that random sample. A partial cytogenetic response means that less than 35% of cells are Philadelphia chromosome-positive.
What is my FISH test result?
The FISH (fluorescence in-situ hybridization) test is a type of cytogenetic test (sometimes called a molecular test) that can visualize a specific gene or gene region on chromosomes. In the FISH test, a sampling of about 200 of your cells are tagged with a chemical marker that glows under special light when the cells are viewed under the microscope. The FISH test in CML can detect the presence or absence of a particular segment of DNA on the Philadelphia chromosome called the BCR-ABL gene. This test can detect one in 500 leukemia cells containing this defect.
What is my PCR result?
The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test is a way of looking for the BCR-ABL gene directly. This highly sensitive cytogenetic test can detect one Philadelphia chromosome-positive cell in a million normal cells.
Will I need a bone marrow test?
Your doctor may want to perform a bone marrow biopsy to see if any cells in the bone marrow are Philadelphia chromosome-positive.
Produced in collaboration with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society &
supported through an educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb
Doctors use a variety of tests to monitor treatment effectiveness and the progression of CML. These include blood tests and cytogenetic tests, including the fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) test and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Am I responding to treatment?
Almost everyone with CML has cells with the Philadelphia chromosome, which is responsible for the overproduction of white blood cells (WBCs). Doctors monitor your response to medical treatments by measuring the behavior and characteristics of the WBCs. Laboratory tests are used to measure the number of leukemia cells, and, if you are Philadelphia chromosome-positive, the number of cells containing the defective gene.
Am I experiencing a hematological response?
A hematological response means that the number of WBCs is now within normal range. The hematologic response can be used to predict the course of the disease.
Am I experiencing a cytogenetic response?
Cytogenetic tests look for the Philadelphia chromosome, the genetic hallmark of CML. This test can detect one defective cell in 20. When people who are Philadelphia chromosome-positive have a cytogenetic response, it means that the number of leukemia cells containing the defect has been reduced. Doctors take a sample that contains millions of cells and examine 20 to 30 of them under the microscope. A complete cytogenetic response means that no Philadelphia chromosome-positive cells have been found in that random sample. A partial cytogenetic response means that less than 35% of cells are Philadelphia chromosome-positive.
What is my FISH test result?
The FISH (fluorescence in-situ hybridization) test is a type of cytogenetic test (sometimes called a molecular test) that can visualize a specific gene or gene region on chromosomes. In the FISH test, a sampling of about 200 of your cells are tagged with a chemical marker that glows under special light when the cells are viewed under the microscope. The FISH test in CML can detect the presence or absence of a particular segment of DNA on the Philadelphia chromosome called the BCR-ABL gene. This test can detect one in 500 leukemia cells containing this defect.
What is my PCR result?
The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test is a way of looking for the BCR-ABL gene directly. This highly sensitive cytogenetic test can detect one Philadelphia chromosome-positive cell in a million normal cells.
Will I need a bone marrow test?
Your doctor may want to perform a bone marrow biopsy to see if any cells in the bone marrow are Philadelphia chromosome-positive.
Produced in collaboration with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society &
supported through an educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb
