How Long Does a Biopsy Provide Useful Information?
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Published on May 21, 2017
With ever-evolving treatments and new discoveries in medicine, will your biopsy for myeloproliferative neoplasm still provide useful information in the future? Dr. Carlos Bueso-Ramos of MD Anderson Cancer Center describes the longevity of a biopsy and how the sample can still provide important data years after the procedure.
The Ask the Expert series is sponsored through an educational grant to the Patient Empowerment Network from Incyte Corporation
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Transcript | How Long Does a Biopsy Provide Useful Information?
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Andrew Schorr:
If there are new discoveries in medicine, whether it's genetic or otherwise, can you go back to that and what you have on those slides or what we have in that have been collected in the vials of blood, is that valid for information even far in the future?
Dr. Bueso-Ramos:
Great question, Andrew. Actually, yes, and even look at some of the publications that Dr. Verstovsek had, you know, we had a patient that had follicular lymphoma, then 10 years later developed primary myelofibrosis. And, you know, Dr. Verstovsek asked me, can you go back to 10 years ago and see if the JAK2 was there or the TET2 was there in an analysis of what are the molecular drivers of transformation or progression. And we went to the 10 years ago biopsy. We extracted the DNA from the biopsy, and we gave it to his team, and the team actually identified that there was an early event. And so you can actually map those molecular events.
Hopefully, in the future, we should be able to tell you there is something here at a sub-clonal level, maybe you have X disease, but there may be a particular clone that is not that prominent right now. But it may become prominent later on, and they switch. And so that information is available. You can actually get, you see, as they do these extra smears that don't get stained, they can be painted by pros that look for specific chromosomes 10 years later and some call, you know, hybridization. You know, you can hybridize probes and actually get signals on the smear. You can scrape the smears and get DNA.
Andrew Schorr:
So there may be new discoveries that happen, and you will have ways of querying that original sample to see how it lines up with the new discovery.
Dr. Bueso-Ramos:
Correct.
Please remember the opinions expressed on Patient Power are not necessarily the views of our sponsors, contributors, partners or Patient Power. Our discussions are not a substitute for seeking medical advice or care from your own doctor. That’s how you’ll get care that’s most appropriate for you.
