BCR/ABL Monitoring of chronic myelogenous leukemia on Gleevec – pro
There have been no studies that demonstrate that followup with BCR/ABL assists with actual clinical management of CML but it has become standard based on a guideline recommendation.It is not clear what the best monitoring stategy of imatinib might be; however, bcr/abl analysis would be a part of any finally accepted strategy. Unfortunately no trials of such strategies have been eprfomred but there is guidance from expert consensus. Some physicians get regular bcr/abl transcripts, others use FISH, others only use it for monitoring when Ph chromosome is undetectable. As noted, NCCN expresses the expert consensus and recommends BCR/ABL transcript analysis every three months until complete cytogenic response is reached and every 3-6 months thereafter.
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http://www.cdhb.govt.nz/chlabs/miscdocuments/CML_Monitoring_Guidelines_Jul%202007.pdf