Discoveries have been made about genetic variations that may indicate a person's risk for developing a life-threatening blood disorder through blood-plasma tests. These tests can help doctors "detect disease, predict therapy response, and monitor disease progression using plasma rather than cells, replacing, in some cases, the need for painful bone-marrow biopsies".
This will help patients with leukemia and lymphoma since many times they develop other disorders caused by treatment for the cancer. The blood-plasma test will help indicate their risk for these diseases and therefore can better prepare by storing the patient's own stem cells for later bone marrow transplants.
Great post Professor! I personally think this is a brilliant idea! Plasma testing would allow for more time of preparation like you said and therefore for those patients who unfortunately develop cancer, the treatment won't be so harsh on them. Considering I have had a lot of family members who have suffered from this horrible disease, reading that plasma tests can somehow aid these circumstances is truly a plus!
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