12 replies to this topic

[luvmybees24]

Ok so I got the results from my general doctor ( I have to have him order the tests so my county health insurance will pay for them) and I don't see my oncologist until Friday. I have no clue what these numbers mean and neither did my general dr. Help!

It says.

Test Name: BCR/ABL Quantitation by RT-PCR

Result: POSITIVE 0.00042 (0.042%)

IS Value: 0.044%

Normal: Not detected

I don't have any previous ones to compare it to. So what's going on? SO LOST and so frustrated bc I have no clue how I'm doing!

[Trey]

That is terrific.  Your result is stated in International Scale (IS), so your .04% represents over 3 log reduction, which is Major Molecular Response (MMR).  Great news!

[luvmybees24]

OMG really? How can you tell its a 3 log reduction? How do you figure that out by the numbers by not looking at the original tests? I'm so confused!

[luvmybees24]

Does this test tell how many PH+ cells there are or is that the FISH? He either didn't order a FISH or they didn't do one because there are no results for it.

[Trey]

Your result says "IS Value: 0.044%".  That allows for log reduction calculations.

International Scale uses 100% as the standardized average starting point.  Each log reduction takes away one decimal place.

100% = 0 log reduction

10% = 1 log reduction

1% = 2 log reduction

.1% = 3 log reduction

Your .04% is less than .1%, so greater than 3 log reduction.

FISH should show negative with this PCR result.  FISH becomes zero at approx 2 log reduction (rough equivalence, not exact).

[luvmybees24]

OK! So when I had my bone marrow blood tested it said 85% of my cells had PH+ was that my first "log"?

I am so happy! So can i refuse to have a bone marrow biopsy now and just have him re-test this instead? Seems kind of pointless to have a biopsy.

[CallMeLucky]

It's usually a good idea to have the second biopsy to be thorough.  It is a literal pain, but if the second one is clean then you know you are in pretty good shape and can have peace of mind.  Some people would opt to not do it, for me personally I'm willing to endure the discomfort of the test to have the complete picture in my file.

Congratulations on your good results......

[luvmybees24]

I'd rather not. It's been 4 months and I'm still in a lot of pain. It wasn't easy for them to get it on me, etc. I am sure this won't please my onc so thinking of seeing one of the specialists at UofM for a 2nd opinion.

[Happycat]

My onc doesn't do the repeat BMBs if PCR and all else looks good. If I lost response, he'd probably do BMB.  He also told me if I really wanted to have one, I could have one. (I declined.). He has found the peripheral blood and BMB results correlate well, so he doesn't do them after the initial diagnosis.  Each doc is different though.

Traci

[Trey]

If your next PCR is as good as this one, then the BMBs will not be needed any longer.  So I would say have another PCR, and two consecutive great PCRs should resolve the question. 

[markmendonca]

Trey  can u help me understand somthing .. i been on tasigna for 6 months i started with my wbc at 27000 and  after 6 months i am at 6000 or 6300 .... i now did a bcr and onc told me that i was at 0.19% what doe's that mean??????? she was happy and that it was good .... GOOD WHAT???                   

[markmendonca]

happy for you ...

[Trey]

What you called a "bcr" is a PCR test.  I assume the .19% is lower than previous tests, so it should mean that you are doing well.  If the PCR numbers drop, then that is the definition of "good".

You can read this for more information:

http://community.lls.org/docs/DOC-1273