WCM Researcher Finds Bone Marrow Biopsies May Not Be Needed for Clinical Trials

When patients with follicular lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, participate in clinical trials, they are often required to undergo bone marrow biopsies at the beginning of the trial, as well as later on if they respond to the treatment being evaluated.

But the information gathered during this process does not affect outcomes and may not be necessary, according to research conducted by Weill Cornell Medicine’s Dr. Sarah Rutherford.

“Bone marrow biopsies are irrelevant for response assessment in the majority of patients with follicular lymphoma treated on clinical trials,” Rutherford told the Oncology Times. “Consideration should be given to removing bone marrow biopsies as a requirement for follicular lymphoma clinical trials.”

Learn more about her study and the results of her research in a Q&A with the Oncology Times.