Nowadays, these patients have significantly improved their life expectancy, and in some cases, the disease can even be cured, thanks to individualized treatments focusing on the study of minimal residual disease in the bone marrow, «a procedure that is not feasible to perform multiple times as it is invasive and painful for the patient.»
Dr. Bruno Paiva, co-director of the Hemato-Oncology Program at Cima, integrated into the Cancer Center Clínica Universidad de Navarra, highlighted in an interview with Europa Press Infosalus that the significance of this medical breakthrough is threefold and all aimed at improving the lives of patients. He details that they achieve:
1- Reduction in the number of bone marrow aspirations leading to an improvement in the quality of life of patients.
2- Disease monitoring can be more frequent through peripheral blood, providing benefits in defining the prognosis of patients.
3- The detection of minimal residual disease in peripheral blood seems to be more specific than in bone marrow when identifying patients at ultra-high risk of progression, which could be crucial in anticipating a new line of treatment before clinical and aggressive tumor recurrence.
WHAT IS BONE MARROW ASPIRATION?
We asked this specialist what bone marrow aspiration consists of, a technique in which fluid is extracted from the bone, specifically, «marrow blood through a marrow puncture with a trocar, a thick needle.»
According to the National Cancer Institute of the United States, this procedure is usually performed on the sternum bone, a hip bone, or a thigh bone. Dr. Pavía specifies that this test is commonly done on the iliac crest (upper edge of the hip bone) or on the sternum.
«A small area and the bone surface are numbed with an anesthetic. The needle is inserted into the bone and a sample of bone marrow fluid is extracted, which is then observed in the laboratory,» notes the American Cancer Institute.
IN WHICH CASES IS IT USED?
As explained by the CIMA specialist, bone marrow aspiration is usually an «essential» sample for differential diagnosis, staging, and treatment efficacy evaluation in many hematologic neoplasms.
Do patients need specific preparation for it? This doctor states that it does not require specific preparation. «Just be prepared, as it is a more invasive and painful procedure than a peripheral blood draw,» he adds.
Regarding the main risks of this technique, the CIMA researcher maintains that generally, taking these samples does not pose a health risk. «However, sometimes adverse effects such as hematoma formation or discomfort at the puncture site may occur,» he concludes.