A patient's perspective on liquid biopsy
Liquid biopsies are imprecise, and they've proven difficult to perfect. But improving upon them needs to be a critical goal for medicine, patient advocate Grace Cordovano writes for STAT.
To explain why, Cordovano relates her own experience with a traditional biopsy, to confirm a diagnosis of advanced lymphoma. It was a harrowing one — involving a partially collapsed lung, coughed-up blood, chest pain, shortness of breath, and low blood pressure.
After all that, her test results were inconclusive because surgeons were unable to recover enough of a tissue sample. A liquid biopsy (if it worked) would have spared her additional suffering, and maybe saved her money as well.
"It is essential not to underestimate or overlook completely the patient experience, the impact on quality of life, and the costs associated with both traditional and liquid biopsies," she writes.
Read more.
To explain why, Cordovano relates her own experience with a traditional biopsy, to confirm a diagnosis of advanced lymphoma. It was a harrowing one — involving a partially collapsed lung, coughed-up blood, chest pain, shortness of breath, and low blood pressure.
After all that, her test results were inconclusive because surgeons were unable to recover enough of a tissue sample. A liquid biopsy (if it worked) would have spared her additional suffering, and maybe saved her money as well.
"It is essential not to underestimate or overlook completely the patient experience, the impact on quality of life, and the costs associated with both traditional and liquid biopsies," she writes.
Read more.
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