In quite a break through, a new method can now be used to help diagnose Bone Marrow Cancer quite effectively. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) in the US not only designed but also tested whether a T2-weighted MRI could detect bone marrow fibrosis in an experimental model.
‘Our study provides proof-of-concept that this non-invasive modality can detect pre-fibrotic stages of the disease,’ said lead researcher Katya Ravid, Professor at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) in the US. ‘It is intriguing to speculate that future pre-biopsy MRI of the human pathology might guide in some cases decisions on if and where to biopsy,’ she added. These findings were published in the journal Blood Cancer.
This discovery could lead to more efficient and faster diagnosis, since currently an invasive bone marrow biopsy is used to diagnose the disease.
Myelofibrosis is an uncommon type of chronic leukemia — a cancer that affects the blood-forming tissues in the body, by showing an increase of myeloid cells with an excessive number of large bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes.
It is also characterised by structural abnormality of the bone marrow matrix, which exhibits as excessive deposition of reticulin fibers and cross-linked collagen in the bone
marrow, suppression of normal blood cell development and bone marrow failure.The researchers said they were able to show that an MRI could detect a pre-fibrotic state of the disease with a clear bright signal. The investigators stated that the abundance megakaryocytes contribute to the signal.
This breeds hope and promise for better, effective, non-invasive and relatively pain free diagnosis of diseases.
