Is a bone marrow biopsy the positive test?
Dr. Friedberg: Bone marrow biopsy is done because on our imaging studies we cannot see the bone marrow very well. Lymphomas are blood cell problems. Turns out, all blood cells–the malignant blood cells as well as normal blood cells–are made in the bone marrow. So it’s important to assess the bone marrow. What are the therapeutic options for NHL? Dr. Friedberg: It differs dramatically depending on what subtype of lymphoma a patient has. There are a group of indolent ,or slow growing, lymphomas where, these lymphomas are generally not curable diseases but are very treatable diseases. And options in those patients might include: a period of observation off of therapy, single agent antibody treatments, combinations of chemotherapy and antibody treatments, occasionally, radiation therapy and new agents. The more aggressive lymphomas are curable diseases and there, the standards are generally combinations of chemotherapy and antibody treatments which can lead to cures in more than half of
